Howlingtale
by Comycat1987
Summary: An old legend says everyone has two wolves within them, good and evil. Here, in the cold underground, a human falls. This human has the power to save the world... and erase it. Which wolf will win? (Undertale AU) (under editing) (warning: cursing, blood, suggestive and dirty humor, alcohol and more)
1. Prologue

**Toby fox owns Undertale, not me**

* * *

 _Everything was dark. It was like a blanket, suffocating yet oddly comforting. Frisk could hardly see the rocks and bumps ahead of her._

 _The only light was that of the stars twinkling in the night sky. It was breath-taking, seeing so many at once. Where she was from, it was rare to see a couple through the smog._

 _The air was cold and clean, refreshing. It felt so good to be away from there, away from those people. The people who doubted her, who forgot she existed. She didn't have to worry about any of that out here at Mount Ebott._

 _She made her way through the dark mountain, rather clumsily. A few lonely crickets broke the silence._

 _Legends said those who climb the mountain never return. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. Frisk would like here if she could._

 _A sudden howl made Frisk freeze in her tracks. It was the howl of a wolf, a real wolf. She had only heard wolves in videos. The sound was eerie yet beautiful, reaching into the night sky. It filled Frisk with something she had often been scolded for._

 _Determination._

 _She continued on, feeling a swell of pride. No one would tell her she wasn't good enough here. Here she was free, safe, finally-_

 _Her thoughts were cut short by a sudden jerk. Her ankle got caught on a tree branch, and she yelped as she lost balance and tumbled down. She rolled forwards and down, rocks and pebbles scratching her face and legs._

 _Frisk cried out and scrambled for a hold on something, anything. Frisk wrapped her hand around a stick that was jutting out from the ground. Just as she did, however, she felt the ground disappear from her lower half, and she dangled into the darkness, her heart thumping wildly._

 _Frisk held onto the stick for dear life, looking back. The hole was huge and swallowing, like the mouth of some sort of demon._

 _Frisk took a deep breath and tried pulling herself up._

 _Unfortunately, the stick had other plans._

 _The stick came out from the ground, betraying her at her most vital moment. Frisk yelled as she felt herself fall down, the darkness eating her up._

 _The last thing she heard was the howl of the wolf echoing through the night._

 _~Howlingtale~_


	2. Chapter 1- Awakening

**I do not own undertale, Toby Fox does. I do own this AU, however.**

 **Keep in mind This is undergoing changes, so future chapters may have more grammar errors/ retcons till I am done editing. I am aware!**

 **This is not based off of the AU Wolftale. This is a whole separate AU. This was originally called Wolftale but has since changed.**

 **This AU has art, as well as an ask blog and a few comics, on my DA account ComycatDarkangel. I'd love to see some people over there!**

 **I have yet to change most of the author notes, so there will be some old inaccuracies. Sowwy.**

 **There will be a few shippings. Any non-cannon ships will be saved for end story/after story. There are a ton of errors rush have not been fixed yet like repeated jokes, spelling and little things. I am working on editing right now.**

 **I really hope you enjoy this story! Make sure to please review if you can and tell me what you think!**

 **(Frisk is a girl, around 15-16 in this AU. Also, mechanics work differently. AU)**

* * *

 _Chapter one~ Awakening_

Cold.

That was the first thing to cross Frisk's mind.

She was _cold._

She could feel the grass lightly teasing her cheeks and ankles. A sweet, flowery smell drifted through the air.

Frisk stayed dead still.

 _How'd I get here?_

The memories were fuzzy. Almost as fuzzy as her ears felt…

She shot up like a bat out of hell, her heart dropping in her chest. The sudden air made the scrapes on her cheeks sting, and the movement sent pain creeping up her side, but she was too occupied with a different feeling to care.

Her normal, human ears were completely gone, replaced with soft fur that hid under her brown hair. Her "new" ears were further up her head. They were triangular with rounded tips, sort of like a coyote or wolf.

Well, that wasn't a part of the game plan, now was it?

Frisk stared off into the distance, running her fingers over the fuzzy ears. As she became more aware, she noticed more differences that made her blood run cold. Her nails were longer and more pointed, and her teeth were much sharper. She also seemed to have a big, fluffy brown tail.

Frisk stared at the new appendage, not liking how she felt attached to it. She could _feel_ it. And that freaked her out.

 _What the hell?_

Frisk buried her head in her knees. Whatever kind of dream this was, she wanted it to end.

She didn't want this.

She didn't want to be a _freak._

Frisk tried pinching herself.

Ow.

Still dreaming.

She tried biting her tongue. With her sharper teeth, she drew blood.

Blood was yucky.

Still dreaming.

Frisk huffed and stood up shakily before purposely falling back down. Her head hit the ground with a thud.

That probably wasn't good for her health.

But she was still dreaming.

Frisk jolted back up with another huff, annoyance tingling in her gut. Her hand tightened around some grass and pulled it up in frustration.

That's when she noticed the flowers. They were large, with soft blue petals and ridged leaves. Frisk stared at them curiously. They remained still and unresponsive.

"what a meaningful exchange." Frisk mumbled sarcastically. It felt nice to be able to speak her mind, entertain herself without getting a nasty glance or mean comment. Speaking of which…

She tried thinking back to the night before. She had tripped on a root, she remembered with a slight twinge of pain in her ankle. She still had all the scrapes and bruises from the rolling, and…

She remembered falling into a hole, and nothing else.

Frisk looked around her, checking her surroundings in more detail. She was in a patch of flowers in the middle of the room, the rest of the room consisting of smooth stone floors and walls with simple decorative carvings. A single hallway led put of the room, shadow preventing one from seeing where it led.

Frisk tilted her head, weighing her options. It seemed real, but how could it be? She could of fallen down here, judging by the hole in the ceiling, but how in earth did she end up as a freaking furry?

Frisk shook her head. Maybe the flowers were like some sort of drug. Making her hallucinate. If that was the case, she should leave.

Frisk stood up slowly this time, trying to avoid putting too much weight on her ankle. She must have done something to it when she tripped.

It occurred to her how tired and beat she felt as her head began to pound. Makes sense. That's what happens when you fall down a mountain.

Frisk began limping toward the hallway. The flowers tickled her ankles helplessly.

The hallway was dark, but not very long. It led to a fancy looking door, with weak light illuminating the wall opposite to it.

Frisk ran her fingers along the side of the door, staring up at the rune carved at the top. Something about it made her heart skip a beat.

Frisk shook her head and walked through the door.

The next room was much bigger, and a single patch of grass grew in the middle. Light shone upon this patch, and there was a identical doorway opposite to the entrance.

There was a blue flower in the middle of the grass.

A _smiling_ blue flower.

Flowers don't smile.

 _WHAT?_

It had a face, little black eyes and a smiling mouth. It looked like fangs were ever so slightly poking from the top lip.

Frisk nearly fell over when it _talked_.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!"

His voice was friendly and sweet. Almost too sweet, like birthday flavored ice cream topped with marshmallow fluff. (Its so good though lol)

Frisk blinked, expecting the flower to change back in an instant. But he was the same, grinning and friendly.

Frisk's stomach churned with visions of fake smiles, poison hidden behind sweetness. Looks that told her she was always alone.

"No need to look like that! I'm a friend, you see! You must have fallen down here! How unfortunate."

Frisk couldn't work up the gut to speak. She wanted to accept his friendliness, but she also wanted to spit some curses in his face and walk away.

He winked and stuck his tongue out.

"You must be confused! Don't worry, I'll show you how things work own here!"

Frisk felt a jolt in her chest as the world churned.

Something glowing caught her eye, and Frisk looked down to see a heart materialize in front of her chest. It glowed softly, with different shades of blue, green, purple and red swirling inside.

"That's your soul, the culmination of your being. Now, here in the underground, there are things called monsters. Not like what you may be thinking. But, there are things called "friendliness pellets." They help your soul grow! Now, here, I'll give some to you! Grab as many as you can!"

Little white pellets appeared next to Flowey, and began moving towards Frisk. Frisk looked around before jumping away out of instinct. She nearly fell over from the sudden jolt of pain.

Flowey let out a half hearted laugh.

"hey. You missed. Here's some more, make sure to get them this time!"

 _He sounds so frustrated... why... should I?_

Frisk looked at the next batch thoughtfully. They moved towards her faster.

 _Why are they faster?_

Frisk moved away again, trying to ignore the pain in her ankle and rib.

"... Why are you avoiding them? Run. Into. The. Bullet-friendliness pellets!"

 _Did he say bullets? Hell no._

Frisk scrambled away, feeling an animalistic growl bubble in her throat. She stopped suddenly, surprised with herself. Since when could she growl like a dog?

Flowey wasn't happy, to say the least. Actually, his smile melted away into a bloodthirsty grin, sharp fangs in display.

"You know what's going on here, don't you?" Flower's voice was much deeper, more threatening.

Frisk felt fear churn in her belly, but determination burned in her "soul" at the same moment. She stared at the flower, feeling her new ears move back. She couldn't suppress the growl that made its way past her throat.

"You just want to see me suffer. Die!"

There was a flash of white, and suddenly she was surrounded by the white bullets. They moved around her in a circle, preventing escape. Frisk looked around, the burning feeling gone, replaced by panic. What was she going to do, they were all around and coming closer-

"Oh my, what is happening here?"

Flowey froze at the sound of the deep voice. He snarled before disappearing into the ground, bullets fading into thin air.

Frisk looked shakily at the owner of the voice.

Her eyes would never forget the sight.

He was a huge, goat-like creature. He had large, curled horns and white fur. His muzzle was broad and surrounded by a thick, golden beard. He wore a purple cape pulled around to cover most of his body. Soft, regal looking fur ringed the edges of the cape. Something metallic glowed from the thin gap between both sides of the cape. He looked like a king, a king she shouldn't mess with.

"Oh..." He stared at her hard, eyes looking her over.

"you're human."

"..." she was shaking too hard to speak. She was starting to get a fight or flight feeling.

The goat king thing stared hard at her before smiling warmly.

"No need to be afraid. My name is Asgore. How did you end up here?"

"I... fell..." This monster seemed like he didn't want to hurt her, but so did that flower. She wasn't falling for it again. But... he had a genuine warmth in his eyes that she couldn't ignore.

Asgore nodded solemnly.

"I thought That much. Now child, would you like to come to my home and rest, perhaps have a cup of tea?"

Frisk bristled slightly at being called child, but the word _rest_ sent waves of exhaustion through her legs. Her wounds stung and she was tired as hell. But could she trust this guy?

She opened her mouth to say no, but that warmth got her. She grabbed her arm nervously.

"I don't... know..."

Asgore blinked slowly.

"You look injured. If you go through the ruins with me, no monster would dare hurt you."

Frisk looked up. Well, that made sense. This guy was _huge._ Maybe it wouldn't hurt...

"I guess..."

Asgore gave another nod.

"Alright then. Follow me child. Oh, and would you mind telling me your name?"

Frisk flinched.

"OH! Sorry! I'm Frisk..."

Asgore smiled and laughed.

"It's alright! You have been through a lot, I reckon. Nice to meet you, Frisk."

"you too..." Frisk said softly. He seemed genuine, at least. Still, she kept a safe distance away from him as they walked through the exit. Well, walked and limped.

The ruins were large, full of purple stone and red leaves and puzzles.

Asgore explained that this place used to be the capital of monsters, and that they moved due to lack of space.

The idea of monsters was still a little odd to her. She remembered reading about such creatures, but never thought it was really true. Much less thought she would be face to face with them. There was still the possibility of this being a dream, but you couldn't feel pain in a dream, could you?

She wanted to ask more about them, but couldn't find it in her to open her mouth. This is why she liked being alone- she could open her mouth when she wanted without fear. Without worry. Now more than ever she wanted to stay on someone's good side- those horns were probably not just decoration.

The first monsters they walked past weren't scary at all. Little frog like creatures called Froggits, scared looking bugs called Whimsums and little jelly like things called moldsmals.

"There used to be many more kinds of monsters here. But the cold ended up driving them out. Unfortunately, this is the warmest place on the underground." Asgore explained.

"what?"

 _Warmest?_ She was FREEZING!

"Yes, warmest. It only gets colder the more east you go."

Frisk gulped. How cold could a place get?

"you don't have to worry about all that. You're safe here."

 _Here?_

From the way he sounded, it was like she was going to love here forever. Or, at least, for the rest of her life.

Did she want that?

Sure, she had no friends. Sure, she was a disappointment to everyone around her. Sure, she could leave them behind for good. It wasn't them she was worried about.

It was the sky. The wind. The sun. The moon. The stars. Warmth. She didn't want this to be the last time she saw all that.

At the same time she felt bad for these monsters. It couldn't be fun living in such a cold, dark place.

"Why can't you guys leave?" Frisk asked, almost so softly she thought he didn't hear. Asgore was quiet for a few moments.

"We are kept here by a barrier. Long ago, there was a war between monsters and humans. The humans won, and they banished us here, sealing us with a barrier."

Frisk let out a sad laugh before she could suppress it. She felt a sympathy for this monster, and felt a little more at ease.

"humans sucks, don't they?"

Asgore blinked slowly.

"You are human, are you not?"

Frisk huffed.

"Yeah, but I'm not a very well liked human. There are nice people, then there are bad people. The bad people seem to outweigh the good these days... also, I don't know if I'd be considered a human now." Frisk pointed at her ears.

Asgore looked at her quizzically as he pressed a blue button to open a door. "You mean you aren't supposed to have those?"

"no. No I'm not."

"oh..." something flashed in Asgore's eyes. Frisk felt something twinge in her chest. Was he hiding something?

"I just woke up with these... and this tail..." Frisk had forgotten it existed for awhile. It felt so weird to move it, to command it. It did what her mind told it to. It was real.

"Do you know anything about that?"

Asgore looked away.

"No. I'm sorry."

As much as Frisk wanted an answer, she didn't push it. You don't push a giant goat monster with horns half the size of your body for anything.

Asgore was silent until they reached a dead tree surrounded by leaves in varying shades of red and orange and brown.

"Here we are."

Behind the tree sat an old, comfy looking home. It was small, yet looked oddly satisfying.

Asgore walked up to the door and pushed it open, the creaking of its opening echoing through the ruins. Warmth erupted from the open house.

Asgore beckoned her inside. Frisk followed hesitantly.

Inside the house smelled like a homemade blanket, and the warmth mad Frisk feel like she was just returning after being in the Snow on a winter day. She rubbed at her burning fingers, keeping her eyes on Asgore.

"I imagine you would like to rest right away?" He asked, looking at her hands quizzically. He probably didn't understand the concept of cold hands with all that fur.

Frisk stayed quiet. This house was just too... homey to seem real. Too comforting...

Asgore began walking towards a hallway to the right, looking to her to follow. Frisk did so after a quick glance at a large set of stairs leading down, her footsteps making the floorboards groan.

He led her to the first room in the hallway, opening the door for her. She noticed how much bigger he was than the doorframe, and wondered why it wasn't made for his size.

"You can rest here. The bed sheets may be a little dusty. If you want me to change them right away, let me know."

Frisk peered inside the room, giving Asgore a shy glance.

"thanks..."

Asgore smiled warmly.

"It is nothing, little one. This room is yours now, so do with it as you wish. I will go off to make you something to eat. Do you like chocolate or vanilla?"

"...vanilla..."

"Okay then. I hope you feel at home." Asgore said before walking away.

Frisk looked around the room. It looked like it used to belong to a little kid- a dusty box of toys lying in a corner and a spaceship blanket tucked neatly on the old bed. Frisk walked to it without a second thought, plopping down and resting her aching body. She rolled over so she was on her good side and closed her eyes.

Maybe she could get used to this... maybe...

Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she thought she felt something prod her side and rest there, like a dog had come to sleep with her and protect her through the night.

* * *

 **Chapter one is a-done!**

 **Until we meet again**

 **Comycat~**


	3. Chapter 2- Calling

**Well hello, fellow mammals. Welcome to the dump, where all us undertale trash live undisturbed in our natural habitat. Also, the formatting may be weird, fanfiction was acting screwey again**

* * *

 _Chapter two~ Calling_

Frisk was liking her stay with Asgore more and more. She had been with him for awhile now. She learned He was actually a fuzzy pushover, and she was starting to think he wouldn't hurt a fly. He loved flowers and tea, and _tried_ to bake. He attempted to make a vanilla pie for her the other day and failed miserably, creating a sugary mass of goo. It was still pretty good though.

Asgore figured out early on Frisk had a sweet tooth. She had usually hid it when she was aboveground, not wanting to have any more teasing thrown her way, but here she felt more at ease. She had also surprised herself in finding she also had a meat-tooth. Literally and figuratively. She _loved_ Asgore's steak, and even if the goat monster couldn't bake for his life he was a fine chef. He used just the right amount of herbs in what he made to make her never want to eat anything else again.

She worked up the courage to ask Asgore to teach her to cook one day, and he agreed warmly. Unfortunately, the resulting disaster was far warmer than his attitude. She was _horrible_ when it came to cooking. Now she knew why the bacon fries she made in the microwave at home never looked quite right.

She didn't really miss her home. She missed the Internet, sure, but she had so much here that she didn't back there. Quiet, cozy, warm, the feeling that a person actually might care….

Why did she still want to go back?

There was an itching in her chest, an impatience. Something that made her feel like a trapped animal.

Still, she resisted from asking Asgore about how to leave. Her world became the ruins, with its cold purple stone and rather timid monsters. They figured out that Asgore had taken her in, so they didn't bother her. She actually got along quite well with them, explaining things to the Froggits and comforting the Whimsum's.

One day, she was looking through the books on the book self curiously when she realized many of the books were for children. That combined with the child's room made her wonder.

 _Does Asgore have kids?_

She held back on the question for a little while, as she normally did. But eventually she couldn't resist the urge to ask, her curious side winning over her reserved one.

"Asgore… did you have children at some point? I mean… there is a box of kids toys…"

Asgore's shoulders stiffened, and for a moment she wondered if she had made a mistake. Then he turned from his work in the fireplace, eyes welcoming yet sad.

"Yes, I did. Not here though, I kept those toys here in the case of a human child falling down here. One younger than you. There were a few, actually."

Frisk wanted to ask more, but the absence of said children probably meant it was a touchy subject, so she stayed quiet. Asgore sensed her curiosity and let out a deep chuckle.

"It's alright, no need to be ashamed. Curiosity is a good thing if given in the right amount. It's natural to want to know things, especially in a place like this. It must all be so strange to you."

She didn't argue with that. It was certainly strange.

Asgore sat down, yawning.

"Well, there were eight humans before you. 5 of them were young children, and the other three were around your age. I only moved here after the sixth fell down. So I have had experience with two human children. One was a very kind boy named Carlos, and the other was a talkative girl named Amy."

Asgore looked away, staring deeply into the fire.

"They have since… left."

"Left?" Frisk echoed quietly.

"Yes. Child, I must tell you something. You must never leave the ruins. Six humans have died upon leaving, and if one more dies, great sorrow will fill the world. If you leave, there is a great chance you will die, and I do not want to see that happen. I tried to warn the last two, but they tried anyway."

Frisk blinked.

"so… if six are dead, there are two left?"

Asgore did not look at her.

"no. There are none."

"oh."

 _What happened to the other two then? Did they die here?_

Frisk shivered from the thought. Did Asgore do it? No, he wouldn't… would he? No, he seemed too gentle for that. He was sad about it though, so maybe they got sick or fell or something of the like.

"Would you like to help me try to make another pie?" Asgore asked, standing up.

"sure… I guess."

For the next few days, her conversation with Asgore troubled her. Frisk couldn't stop thinking about it one night in bed. _"You must never leave the ruins."_

Did that mean she was stuck here forever?

Frisk turned on her back, looking up at the old ceiling.

Could she do that? Stay here for good?

What if she did leave? She would miss Asgore… She had grown quite fond of him, though still a little nervous. And… would Asgore miss her?

She doubted it. But at the same time, it seemed logical. He seemed like a very lonely guy, someone who had lost children to some sort of accident.

But maybe she was a burden. Just as she was back where she came from. A nothing, not useful for anything but getting in the way. If that was the case… maybe she shouldn't stick around?

Frisk closed her eyes. She felt like she was being torn between two choices.

How could she leave all this behind? How could she stay and give everything else up?

The troubled thoughts kept her from sleeping. She tossed and turned, and cried out when she caught her new tail on the side of the bed and yanked out a chunk of fur.

She sat up, holding it in her hand. Damn, did that _sting._

Frisk stood up, deciding to get some ice to place on it. As she walked towards the door, something caught her eye.

It was her own reflection in the mirror propped against the wall. She had tried to avoid looking in mirrors, partly due to her shyness and partly due to the fact she looked like a _freak._

But now as she looked, she realized she _didn't._ The ears were a soft brown, a little lighter than her hair, with creamy white tips. Her forest green eyes had a new, animalistic look to them, and seemed to glow softly.

Her heart sped up. She didn't look _normal_. But maybe that was okay. Maybe… maybe she could fit in _somewhere._ Something in her gut told her that. A new feeling, something kind of familiar…

Something that made her think of the wolf howls she heard before falling.

Frisk stepped away, feeling slightly scared.

She _couldn't_ stay in the ruins.

She would never find the answers to why she was like this, never see the sky again. Never see the stars, the warmth…

She felt guilt settle in her gut. She felt bad. Bad for leaving Asgore when he told her she must never leave.

But that wasn't an option.

…

Frisk had looked all over the ruins, trying to figure out where the exit was. She found no clues, and didn't dare ask another monster in case they told Asgore.

Eventually, she decided to check the basement of Asgore's home. She waited till long past dark as she usually did. No one explained how it got dark in the underground. It just did.

Once she was certain Asgore was asleep and she had steeled her nerves, Frisk made her way towards the stairs. She had learned which floorboards made sound and which didn't, and avoided making any sound. She found she had an aptitude for walking silently, and had practiced in the ruins.

She went onto the first step cautiously. They were made of stone, so she didn't have to worry about sound. It was extremely dark, however, and she lost almost all sight by the time she reached the bottom.

It had quickly gone cold, so cold her breath fogged in front of her. The stairs seemed to lead to a long, stone hallway. Frisk began walking, keeping a hand against the wall. The coldness seeped into her fingertips.

She made her way down, walking around the turning point. She noticed a warm glow ahead, and came upon a room with two lanterns illuminating the room.

And between those two lanterns was a door.

It had the same rune on it that was above the first door she encountered, the three triangles with a winged circle above them. As she approached the door, she noticed even colder air blowing from underneath.

Frisk remembered what Asgore said on her first day. _"It gets colder…"_

So it really was the exit.

Frisk looked it over before turning around.

She had found her exit, but wasn't going to leave just yet.

She would have to say goodbye to Asgore.

The thought filled her with fear. What would he say? Would he understand?

Would he be angry?

Frisk made her way back to her room and covered herself with the blankets, thoroughly chilled.

She would need to find something warmer to wear.

But that wasn't the important thing at the moment. Right now she had to think of what to say to Asgore.

Frisk looked at the wall, trying to come up with something before her mind drifted away.

...

The next day, she couldn't bring herself to even look at Asgore. Seeing him act so normally friendly made her chest hurt with guilt.

How could she do this?

Asgore seemed to notice after awhile that something was up.

"Is there something wrong, child."

Frisk played around with the collar of her sweater.

"uhhh…. I just wanted to say thank you…"

Asgore blinked, confused.

"huh?"

"for letting me stay here… and being so nice to me. You have no idea how that feels… you were so nice and generous to me, and I'm really thankful for that."

Asgore stared at her, a little shocked, before smiling warmly.

"it's no problem at all. I should be thanking you. It's nice to have some company here in the ruins. It gets lonely here, as you can imagine."

Frisk made herself smaller, feeling blood rush to her cheeks. She was not good with heart to heart feelings.

"but… I also want to say I'm sorry…"

"for… what…"

"For what I'm about to say…"

Frisk took a deep breath, her heart pounding.

"Asgore… I'm sorry…. But I need to leave the ruins."

Asgore's eyes widened. Frisk felt a tug on her heart.

 _I'm sorry..._

"... Child, you cannot leave the ruins..."

"I can't stay here either, can I?" Frisk replied solemnly.

"You can. You can stay here and be safe. I cannot guarantee your safety if you choose to leave."

Asgore stood.

"I cannot stop you either. If you still chose to leave, come down these stairs. But be warned- I may be forced to do something I do not wish to do."

With that, Asgore turned and left, his cape following close behind. Frisk sighed, feeling her eyes burn.

But something else burned too. Her soul.

Determination.

Frisk went to her room and grabbed the torn up messenger bag she had found in the ruins and made sure everything she wanted to bring was there. The faded blue ribbon she found, the pretty stone, the bag of jerky, can of beef stew, water bottle, beat up dagger she found with the ribbon, ripped scarf...

Frisk sighed, picking up the bag and putting it on her shoulder. She tested the strap to make sure it would hold, and slowly began walking towards the stairs, taking in the house for possibly the last time.

She would be able to come back, would she? Then again, Asgore... sounded like he wouldn't let her return. She felt like the scum of the earth, leaving all this behind.

Frisk walked down the stairs, actually welcoming the cold that awaited her at the bottom. The walk was slow and painful. It actually seemed colder than last night, her breath creating bigger clouds this time.

Asgore was waiting for her in front of the door, head lowered.

"so. You've made your choice then, human?" The cold made a massive cloud come from his mouth as he spoke, almost like he was breathing smoke

Frisk gulped, her eyes burning again. He never called her human before. She noticed the lanterns were out, and she couldn't see Asgore's eyes through the dark.

"I'm sorry Asgore..." She said in a small voice before taking a deep breath and raising her head. Feeling her ears move forward, her eyes grow stronger.

Her determination growing stronger.

"but I have to do this." She finished, sounding more certain.

Asgore looked up ever so slightly, and she could see a glimpse of his blue eyes.

He looked like he was seeing a ghost.

"Then I am sorry for what I must do. Seven human souls are needed to break the barrier that keeps us trapped." Asgore began.

 _Seven... human souls?_

"long ago, when I lost my children, I was blind. I started collecting human souls, so I could break the barrier and reign war on the humans that caused me this pain." Asgore's deep voice shook a little.

"I vowed to kill all humans that came here. But one after another... my resolve waned. My anger faded. I no longer wanted this bloodshed, and I realized that if monsters went free, we would suffer great losses. It would mean pain for many innocent souls, monster and human, and I couldn't let that happen. But we already had six souls. My plan had brought hope to monsterkind. When I called it off, someone took my place. The smoke caster, they call him. He dethroned me, and decided to continue my plan. I left, not wanting to see the slaughter of more people. I came here when I realized I could stop them from finding a seventh human soul."

Frisk felt something cold drop in her stomach as she took in all the information, pieced it together.

 _Those children's deaths weren't an accident after all._

Asgore lowered his gaze again, hiding his eyes.

"I tried to make them stay. Keep them here, safe. But they eventually wanted to leave. And if they left, they would die and cause so much more death. I had a hard choice to make. Let them go, watch them die and monsterkind go free, and see the deaths of countless monsters and humans? Or keep them here so monsterkind can't go free, keeping them trapped but safe. It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. What would you have done, Child? I asked the other humans this before they tried to leave. They both didn't know what to say."

Frisk gripped the edge of her sweater, trying to stop shaking. What would she have done?

"to be honest, I probably would cower and hide if faced with that choice. But... if I did have the strength... I would do neither, I think." Frisk said, her voice quiet again.

Asgore looked at her in surprise.

" That choice has no answers, no white or black. There is no right choice. But the _best_ choice may not be so obvious... it may have to be found. It may require the help and view of others. Some searching around. But in the end, someone is always going to be unhappy, right?"

Asgore sighed, sending another huge fog cloud into the air with his breath.

"You are different than the other humans. You've stayed the longest. Carlos wanted to leave the second day, Amy the third. You've stayed far longer than them. For whose sake, yours or mine?"

Frisk looked down.

"I don't really know... you've been nicer than anyone I know. It was so nice, but... I just can't stay. It's not you, you've given me everything I could have asked for. It's just... I don't know..." She trailed off, unable to describe that itching in her chest.

Asgore shook his head slowly.

"It's not your fault. It was bound to happen. The ruins are small. But know, you must cast aside any feeling of friendship you have for me, and I must do the same."

Frisk looked up quickly.

"w-why?" _Is he..._

"I'm sorry, child. But it must be done. We must fight."

Frisk stared, shocked, as the world turned black and white with the exception of her and Asgore, just like her encounter with Flowey. She felt that pull in her chest, saw the familiar glow of her soul.

Frisk was filled with dread.

 _No..._

"It was nice to meet you human. I'm happy I was able to spend time with you."

Asgore moved slightly, and a large red trident materialized in his paws, surrounded by fire. The fire lit the room, illuminating Asgore's horns and making them seem more threatening.

"goodbye."

* * *

 **Cliffhanger! I like how the end came out. It went a different way than originally planned, and I like it! I love it when characters take the story into their own hands, and you're left just writing and writing and not knowing where you will end up! I hope Asgore isn't too OOC. And that people like this version of Frisk. I had some inspiration for her from my own OC, who actually is a werewolf (kinda). The similarities end with the eyes and ears though. And the sweet tooth. I have to watch the Mary Sue-o-meter though. This isn't technically an oc, but it could still go down the same road. Like fandom Sans. Oh god fandom Sans. Plz help Cannon Sans defend this monstrosity XD speaking of our skelie…. When he shows up, please do not do bad things to him. He is not meant to be sexualized, though some things I have planned for him may…. Make it look that way. No yuckies, got it XD**

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed and please review or comment or whatever. And if you are here on fanfiction, you should check out my other fanfiction, Skeledad! It's just a bunch of humorous stories centering Sans, Papyrus, and Gaster!**

 **This is such a long AN, I'm sorry XD**

 **Till next time we meet-**

 **Comycat~**


	4. Chapter 3-Fire

Time felt slowed and sticky- each syllable that came from his mount felt emphasized and trapped in their own wrap of time.

"Goodbye."

Frisk stared open mouthed at this new Asgore, this massive, towering warrior surrounded by fire.

When he said he had been dethroned, that must mean he was king.

That made sense now.

It was like he was a whole new person, all hints of his friendliness and kindness gone in a burst of flame.

Frisk felt panic bubble in her throat. She didn't know how to fight, nor did she want to. How could she hurt the person who showed her more kindness than anyone else she had met thus far in her life?

She didn't have time to think as the fire surrounding Asgore pelted towards her, and she just barely stumbled out of the way in time. The air was filled with the smell of burnt hair and the sudden, unbearable heat that pulsed against her cheeks and made it hard to breathe.

As she struggled to maintain her balance, Asgore advanced. He raised his trident, and it glowed a dull orange.

Frisk scrambled away as fast as she could, panic overtaking her. She could have sworn the trident had caught her, but it didn't. This time she fell to the ground, panting and trembling. Frisk shot up, ignoring her bag as it slipped off her shoulder.

Asgore seemed still, as if he was waiting for her to move. Frisk looked around frantically, heart banging against her chest. Asgore was by the hallway now, and she couldn't get past if she tried. She couldn't fight him either- she didn't have the strength or resolve.

Frisk swallowed heavily.

" _the best choice may not be so obvious, it may have to be found."_

Her own words echoed in her head. Maybe… she could find a way to stop this. But how? Someone as inexperienced and weak as her couldn't possibly-

Frisk's thoughts were cut short by more fireballs hurled her way. Frisk avoided them better this time.

 _There isn't time for doubt now, if I hesitate even a little I'll be fried!_

Frisk faced Asgore, shaking.

"Asgore-"

Asgore didn't let her speak as he moved forwards, swinging his trident. It caught Frisk in the side, sending her flying into the wall.

Frisk was left winded, tasting blood in her mouth. Her back and side _hurt_ , burned with a pain that left her unable to move as Asgore approached her.

He raised his trident, and she expected death. But as she looked up at him, he hesitated, eyes losing their hardness for a second. Frisk took this opportunity to roll out of the way, wincing in pain.

Frisk used the wall to pull herself to her feet, holding her side. She could feel warm blood drip from between her lips and down her chin. As Asgore moved closer, she noticed she was _cornered._ Nowhere to run.

Asgore's huge figure cast a dark shadows over Frisk as she backed against the wall, placing her free hand on it. Adrenaline burned in her veins.

 _This is it… no… I saw it before… if I can convince him not to fight…_

Frisk remembered her reflection, how different she looked. How much more determined.

Determined.

Frisk looked up, her body trying to back up further but to no avail. Closer up she could see guilt in his eyes. She locked her eyes with his, not looking away despite her body screaming at her to.

"I'm sorry child. I'll make it as fast as I can. You won't feel a thing."

Frisk lowered slightly, hand tightening it's grip on the wall.

"Asgore, this doesn't have to be it."

"this is the only way to ensure that countless other deaths don't happen."

"You can't put off war this way, Asgore." Frisk growled. Despite her hearts pounding, she felt _determination._ It made her feel strong, made her lip lift ever so slightly to reveal fangs.

"If no human passes, no human soul will be added to the other six." Asgore said coldly.

"true, but one day a human will get passed you. One way or another. Or the other monsters will come here. Like I said, this isn't going to put off war. The only way to do that is to _act._ "

Asgore didn't waver, but something flashed in his eyes.

"I am acting."

"No, you're waiting." Frisk straightened slightly. " You are waiting here. You are waiting till the day Someone gets through here, then what? Then this will all be in vain. I don't blame you. It's a hard choice. But don't you think that by now you would have looked for another answer? A better one?"

"This is the best answer, and if I could change that I would."

"but you never even tried, did you? Because you were scared. Why didn't you go out there and tell them that their plans are bad, that it would only cause more pain."

"I'm no longer king." Asgore said dryly.

"You don't have to be king. You just have to try. Monsters aren't humans. You're kinder, stronger. You understand each other more than us humans ever will. From what I've experienced here with these monsters- with you- you guys don't want war. You just want freedom. I'm sure if you said you can get that without war, you would have a decent following of people."

Frisk closed her eyes, preparing herself for the stab of a trident. He could snap at any moment.

"I-I don't blame you for what you did… like I said before, I don't think I would have the strength to make that choice. But you do. If you have the strength to make that choice, why can't you have the strength to change it instead of waiting for someone else to do it for you?"

Asgore was silent.

Frisk stayed still, unable to come up with anything else. Her body had begun shaking again and her sudden surge of strength seemed to leave as soon as it came. She just wanted this to _end_.

"You sound just like Toriel." He said at last.

Frisk looked up, and saw pain and longing on his face.

"She always told me the same thing. That I waited. That I didn't act."

Asgore took a deep breath.

"… I think you are wrong, human. I don't have the strength to make that choice. I was forced to anyways. That's why this is happening. It's not because I'm strong enough to make that decision, it's because I'm too weak to find the true answer."

Frisk looked on as he lowered his trident. Was he sparing her?

"I was right about one thing. You really are different from the other humans. You see what they do not. You're wise. And determined when you need to be. You have more strength than you give yourself credit for."

"if I had _strength,_ I wouldn't be shaking."

Asgore chuckled deeply.

"strength isn't always fearlessness, little one. You remind me of my one child. He was such a sweet thing, he always knew the right thing. Yet he would bawl at the slightest little scare."

 _I'm pretty sure the "slightest little scare" isn't almost getting killed._

Asgore let his trident fade away, and the world slowly returned to normal.

"If you must leave the ruins, I will not stop you. But if you do, you must promise me. Promise me you won't die. For your sake and that of all of monsterkind."

Frisk stared at him wide eyed, still trembling.

"I… that's not an easy thing to promise…"

"I think you can do it. You did it today, after all. You can change their minds. It's not fair to kill you, nor keep you here because of my weakness. And besides…" Asgore's expression turned grim.

"The underground gets colder and colder, slowly. Soon it will be impossible to grow food, and living here will get increasingly difficult. You must find a way to change their minds before they go free, to prevent tragedy. Or leave before it's too late."

"I…" Frisk started. "I'll… try…"

Asgore moved forward, startling Frisk until he kneeled down and wrapped her up in a hug, his rough beard scratching her cheek. Frisk stiffened, unsure of what to do and a little scared.

"I know you can. I'm sorry for hurting you, child. I understand if you can't forgive me. I just want to see me children again, see my wife again…"

Frisk stayed dead still as tears rolled down Asgore's cheeks. Then she let herself soften and buried her face into Asgore's fur. It smelled strongly of flowers.

This was the first time she had a bond like this. She didn't want to lose it. She felt a few of her own tears leak from her eyes and Into his fur.

Eventually Asgore pulled away, standing back up.

"I think you should stay another night or two. It would be tough going with your side the way it is."

Frisk felt a wave of pain as he mentioned it. There was probably going to be one hell of a bruise, but she didn't think anything was broken.

"I guess…"

"it's alright, child. You can leave whenever you like, I won't try to stop you. And you can always come back as well."

Asgore turned, leaving the room. Frisk watched, still shaking from her ordeal. The cold was returning.

 _I can't believe… I actually… got through that. Who would've knew…. Asgore doesn't seem like he could kill someone now… he's was like a whole other person…_

Frisk shivered with the thought before limping across the room to grab her abandoned bag. Fortunately, it was still in one piece. She then followed Asgore down the hallway, tired and sore.

…

It was dark, the only light being that of the lanterns. It had been a day since the fight. Frisk stood in front of the huge door, staring at it numbly.

This was it. She was finally leaving.

She decided to leave while Asgore slept, as to not cause him too much trauma. And partly out of fear. She forgave him, but was still frightened. She didn't know if that fear would ever go away.

Her side still hurt, as did her back, but not as much. The only impact it had on her was a slight limp, and unwillingness to lay on that side.

She had been here for awhile, unable to bring herself to open the door. Asgore said she could come back, but… could she? Would she die? Images of fearsome creatures running her down and tearing her apart filled her mind.

 _No… I'm sure the monsters out there are nice too. They have to be…_

Frisk shook herself. Not the time. Now she had to be brave.

She gave one last glance down the hallway before pushing open the doors.

It was time.

Frisk stepped out into a dark room with a single patch of grass…

 _Oh no._

The room was just like the first dark room, identical doorways, grass patch…

And evil flower.

Flowey chuckled after seeing her shocked expression.

"Oh, is that how you greet an old friend?"

Frisk growled in response- she was becoming used to sounding like a dog. It came in handy when talking to people you despise, especially if they happen to be a talking flower.

"heh. So, you think you're veeeerrrryyy clever, don't you? Sparing him? Do you reaaaally think that's the way things go down here?"

"huh?"

" _huh_?" Flowey mocked, causing Frisk's ear to twitch. "sorry to burst your bubble, but this is a kill or be killed world. You'll see that soon. Will you kill out of frustration? Let's see how far your determination can take you."

With that, Flowey let out an ear-splitting laugh before disappearing Into the ground once more.

Frisk blinked.

 _Kill or be killed… kill… nah, that thing is crazy._

It still left her with a uneasiness as she continued on.

The doorway led to a long, purple hallway. The stone got lighter and lighter as she progressed, and the air got colder. Frisk stopped to pull her scarf out of her bag, wrapping the torn purple fabric around her neck. It smelled musty, but it was something.

She continued, eventually coming across a light purple door with white peeking from underneath.

She pushed open the door with a huff.

She was _not_ expecting what awaited her on the other side.

Cold wind and snow blasted her in the face, catching her off guard.

It was snowing lightly, though the wind made it look much harsher. The ground was covered in thick snow, and the white substance coated the branches of the trees. The branches sagged with the constant weight, some splintered at the end.

Frisk stepped outside gingerly, wishing she had worn boots or something. Not low sneakers. This wasn't going to be fun.

She tugged the door closed behind her, looking around. The only sound was the whistle of the wind, and the dead trees gave the place an eerie feel. The cold cut right through her sweater, chilling her already. There was a single path of trampled down snow leading into the distance.

Frisk began walking, trying to make as little sound as possible. This place intimidated her, and she wanted to get by as fast as possible.

She also had the feeling of being watched, but ignored it. She doubted anyone would be out in wind like this.

Frisk kept on walking, feeling snow get into her shoes and burn her ankles. She stopped in front of a large, sturdy branch that had fallen onto the ground to empty her shoes out. Her feet were number from standing on the snow by the time she was done, and her socks soaked.

Frisk felt a shiver creep up her spine before stepping over the branch, on the move again.

She was stopped by a sudden _snap_ that made her jump into the air. It sounded almost like a gunshot, and echoed into the air.

Frisk turned around, expecting to see death.

But nothing was there.

The tree branch was now shattered, and a few footprints surrounded it. They came from nowhere and seemed to disappear.

 _Who's heavy enough to break this big thing?_ Frisk thought, dread making her spine colder. The footprints looked like some sort of slipper. Frisk looked around, grabbing her scarf in apprehension.

After a thorough check, she decided to keep walking. She didn't know what caused the stick to snap like that, but maybe it was frozen and she hadn't noticed the footprints. She still had the itching feeling of being watched, however, and couldn't help but turn around every so often.

Eventually she came across a bridge with wooden bars built sloppily across it. The gap looked big enough to slip through, but Frisk suspected something else was up. Electricity? Poison?

" _ **hey**_ **."**

Frisk froze, her hair standing on end and her tail tucking itself between her legs. _D-did I just…_

" _ **don't ya know how to greet a new pal? Turn around.**_ _"_


	5. Chapter 4- rattled

" _ **don't ya know how to greet a new pal? Turn around.**_ _"_

Frisk was filled with frozen _terror_. It made her heart slam desperately against her ribs and her breath to stop. She shakily complied, slowly turning to face the owner of the deep voice.

It was a skeleton. A living, moving skeleton. He was about her height, with sharp little white lights in his eye sockets. His mouth was turned up in a sharp, almost forced looking grin, unusual canine shaped teeth on display. He wore a black jacket with a single blue stripe running across the arms, with an icon of a blue crescent moon on each elbow. He wore black shorts that went to his knees, and they too had the royal blue stripe and moon icon.

His arm was outstretched, offering a boney hand in greeting. Frisk hesitated before slowly stretching her own hand- out of fear of what would happen if she didn't.

The second she took his hand, a sharp sound rang out into the snow, making her jump and pull away. It sounded suspiciously like someone passing massive gas… or craping in their pants, for that matter. Frisk took a step back, eyeing the skeleton as he let out a deep laugh. She didn't like those teeth… did her teeth look like that? She ran her tongue over her canines and hoped not.

"ah, the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. A classic." He laughed, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye dramatically. Skeletons could cry?

Frisk stood in shocked silence. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. _What am I seeing, anyways?_

The skeleton joined in her silence for a few moments, not knowing what to do.

"… Uh, that's your cue to laugh. Ya'know, haha? Funny? Humor?" He said, raising his brow (somehow). Frisk replied with fearful silence. Something felt wrong and dangerous about him...

"No? Just gonna look like a scared cat? Okay. Well, I'm Sans, Sans the skeleton." He gave her a good natured wink, but the way his eye lights narrowed to little glowing slits sent a shiver down her spine

"I'm… Frisk…"

"heh. You know, I'm supposed to be on watch for humans. But I, uh, don't care about catching nobody."

 _Why should I believe that?_ Frisk thought, her eyes narrowing. It didn't sound believable.

"now my bro, Papyrus, does care about catchin' humans. He's crazy about 'em. And you so happen to be a human. Right?"

"what else would I be…" Frisk muttered. Sans somehow heard, to Frisk's dismay.

"heh, it may look like I don't have ears, but I actually have really good hearing. Juuuust to let ya' know. Not the friendliest pup around, aren't ya'" His smile faltered a little.

Frisk kept her mouth shut this time, though flinched slightly at the word _pup._

"Well, if you're done givin' me the eye, I think I see my bro up ahead."

Frisk turned quickly, her legs wanting to carry her far away.

"Where?" She squeaked. _What if they gang up on me?_

"Eh, don't worry. Go through these bars- they are too wide to keep anybody from passing through." Sans beckoned towards the barred bridge, and Frisk decided she had no choice but to trust him. She went through, hurrying onto the other side.

There was a clearing, with what seemed to be a stand of sorts and a crudely shaped lamp nearby.

"quick. Hide behind that conveniently shaped lamp."

Frisk gave Sans the _what the hell you on, boi?_ Look, but complied, crouching behind the lamp. It smelled like tomatos and mildew.

 _Why is there a lamp in the middle of a snowy forest?_ Frisk wondered.

Her thoughts were cut short by loud, vigorous crunching, and she peeked out through the side of the lamp to see what was happening.

Sans stood in a relaxed position, hands in his pockets and eyes half closed. Completely indiffrent to the new figure that burst into the clearing. Or so he tried to be. She could see his right arm trembling slightly. Was that from his brother or something else?

He was tall and lanky, a huge red fur scarf wrapped around his neck. His skull was much leaner than Sans's, but the canines were much more prominent. Besides that, his teeth seemed pretty mild when compared to his brother. His eyes were smaller and lacked the lights that Sans's did. He wore a white breastplate with rounded shoulder pads tipped in orange. He had a warm looking, fur lined half-cape draped over his shoulder pads, reaching his waist. He wore large red boots with fur on them. Frisk noted that fur seemed like a pretty common fashion trend.

Frisk shrunk slightly. He didn't look too scary with those wide eyes, but he was tall. And he probably had magic powers like Asgore. It was best to avoid him for now.

"Hey bro." Sans greeted.

"Don't "hey bro" me, SANS! You haven't done anything, have you?! What if a human passes through here?!" The tall skeleton, Papyrus, yelled. Frisk was caught off guard by the volume of his voice. _Why_ was he so loud?

"hey, relax. I've gotten a ton of work done today. A skele-ton." His voice contained a growling rumble near the end as he delighted in his own wordplay.

Papyrus yelled in frustration, and it was all Frisk could do not to join him. Sweet mother of god, that was the worst pun…

"Sans! Now is not the time! This is serious! I have to be in the royal guard! Undyne does to! If we get a human, we can both join the royal guard! We don't have time for your lame jokes, Sans!"

"hey, it sounds like your working yourself…down to the _bone_." He glanced her way with a wide grin. Frisk grabbed a fistful of snow and considered throwing it at him. _Oh dear god make my suffering end please someone help me…._

"SANS."

"hey, come on bro, you're smilin'." He pointed. His arm stopped trembling. He instantly felt more genuine. Maybe he was okay?

"I am and I hate it!" Papyrus replied.

Frisk realized the corners of her mouth were turned ever so slightly up.

Well, talk about frustrating.

"hey, why don't you look at this lamp with me? It looks like it pretty rattled about my puns, if you ask me."

Frisk froze. _Did he just give me away? Oh no…. He really is after me…_

Frisk stiffened, ready to flee, when Papyrus replied in his loud voice.

"I don't have time for this! I'm going back to my work! As for your work…"

 _Oh no please no don't you dare…_

"Put a little more…"

"stooooop." Frisk whispered, wishing she could shoot lasers from her eyes. Sans looked in her direction, grinning wider. Did he really pick that up?

" _Backbone_ into it! Nyeh heh heh!" Papyrus laughed before running off excitedly. After his steps faces into the woods, Sans turned to her again. His right arm was shaking again.

"alright, you can come out now."

Frisk made sure she was not smiling before standing up, brushing snow from her knees.

"You looked like you had fun."

"I have half a mind to slap you." Frisk replied, trying to sound threatening…. And ended up sounding more playful than anything.

Sans chuckled in response. He raised a brow

"aren't scared anymore, are we?"

 _I am still very frightened of you._ Frisk wanted to say, but her sharp tongue beat her.

"no, the desire to flip you off wins over." Frisk went wide eyed as she said it, taking a step back. If she had learned one thing, it was not to piss off a monster.

Sans just laughed some more and winked.

"You're sending me some mixed signals there pal, but whatever floats your boat. But you should get going before you have to sit through more of my _hilarious_ jokes."

Frisk suck in a breath of air, feeling relieved. _Thank the stars._

But as she turned to walk away, she felt a reluctance. She didn't know why, she just didn't want to leave. Leave this little bit of familiarity and go off into the foreign monster world alone again. What if her next encounter wasn't so friendly? She didn't trust Sans at all, but at least he didn't seem to outright murder her. Sans seemed to notice her hesitation.

"hey… you say, could ya do me a favor? Paps is really set on finding a human… and he's working really hard. Could you just let him see you, play around with him for a bit? Don't worry- he acts all mighty but in reality he wouldn't hurt a bug."

Frisk turned slightly.

"You want me to just… show myself to him?" Her voice was small again. That wasn't what she was expecting.

Sans winked again, though she noticed it was with his left eye instead of his right. It struck her as odd for some reason.

"yeah. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for ya. It's just that he really has been working himself to the bone, and he's real excited. And this may be his only chance. I don't know how you got past _him_ , but might as well take opportunity, right?"

"you know Asgore?" Frisk asked suddenly, unable to stop herself.

"yeah. Most people don't know where the former king went, but I'm kinda a sentry here, so I know. I also know that no other humans have come through here since he moved there."

The lights in his eyes dimmed momentarily, and his grin twitched. Seeing this sent fresh fear into her system.

Sans shrugged it off lightly, closing his eyes.

"well, ya don't have to if ya don't want to. I don't blame ya for being scared of us. I know _plenty_ of monsters who'd be just as scared of you."

Frisk looked down. He _did_ help her, and maybe it was a good idea to get on his good side. Being close to Asgore discouraged the monsters in the ruins from attacking her, so maybe this would work in a similar manner.

"I… guess…I will…"

"Alright. Thanks a million. I'll meet you ahead."

Sans turned to leave, oblivious to her distress. She was hoping he would walk with her wherever. Like Asgore did.

She found herself missing him more and more. He was so warm and kind… she had grown so used to him and the ruins. Now she was in a world she knew nothing about, nothing familiar around, and the closest thing to Asgore was Sans. And he was a person she just meant and wasn't sure if he wanted her dead or not.

But at the same time… the monsters weren't evil, were they? They were much kinder than humans by nature. Monsters in the ruins had opened up and shown how much kinder they were when someone listened to them, understood them, helped them.

 _Asgore said I could change them… I don't think so, but… I need to try to keep going. For him._

Frisk gave a last glance in the direction of the ruins before heading onward. Her body had begun to shiver violently from the cold. Great.

Ahead was a shorter path, with one section going north and the other continuing eastward. Frisk was about to continue east when something glowing yellow caught her eye.

It was a little yellow star, glowing close to the ground. As she got closer, it let off a warmth that instantly filled her body up to the brim. She could feel her fingers again. The dull pain in her back faded, and lessened in her side. She also felt a warmth pulse in her chest, and a feeling she couldn't describe flow through her body.

She backed away suddenly, frightened. All she did was graze it. She left the star be and walked along the path, shaking the snow out of her shoes.

She heard a rustle, and stopped and she heard crunching approaching her from behind.

"Sans?" She asked, turning around.

She ended up being face to face with a large dog.

It's fur was a cream color, and it's ears small and pointed. It was dressed in warm, torn warrior garnets and carried a dagger the size of her arm.

It's ears were pricked forward, and tail erect. Frisk felt a wave of uneasiness hit her as she seemed to instantly understand this dogs body language.

This dog was aggressive.

The world quickly went to black and white, signaling a fight. Frisk took another step back. She felt her own ears flatten against her head and her tail tucking between her legs.

"h-hey… I… I'm not looking to hurt anyone…" She stuttered.

The dog tilted it's head, looking at her oddly. It's aggressiveness seemed to fade after she said that. It approached her, bending slightly to stretch it's nose out to sniff her.

Frisk remained completely still, letting it get close. It seemed like it wanted to sniff her now, and maybe that would make it more comfortable-

It prodded her with its paw, curiously. Unfortunately, it happened to prod her Injured side.

Frisk jumped away, letting out a sound that was hallway between a snarl and yell. The dog jumped too, instantly going into attack mode as it leaped at her, knocking her over.

Something cold slid into her torso, and blazing pain erupted from the spot.

Frisk tumbled over, unable to make a sound as she grabbed at the dagger buried in her.

Everything spun as black crept into her vision, everything turning black. She could taste blood in her mouth, but didn't have the strength to spit it out. Frisk closed her eyes, feeling distant and groggy. The pain started to fade into nothingness.

 _Is this it? I'm sorry Asgore… I failed you…_

…

Frisk shot up, screeching and holding the spot where the dagger had stabbed her. Only, there was nothing there now.

She was on the ground by the yellow star, just a short ways away from where she had just _died._

Frisk panted, unable to get enough air into her lungs as she looked around herself, unable to piece things together. That had to be real. It was too painful, too… her vision blurred and her head spun.

Frisk looked down at her torso. Completely normal. The only thing different was a Phantom pain in the area.

Frisk glanced at the star, shaking too hard to move normally. What had that star _done_ to her?

Her thoughts were cut short by more crunching behind her. "hey, puppo, what's your deal?"

Frisk scrambled away instinctively, though looking behind her just revealed it to be Sans. His canine like teeth send another jolt of terror through her.

Sans put his hands up, looking at her in a puzzled way.

"no need to act like that, I ain't gonna hurt ya. I take back what I said before about knowing monsters who are just as scared as you, damn. I-"

Sans stopped as Frisk began scrambling away, looking somewhere behind him.

Sans turned around calmly.

"is that what spooked you? That's Lesser dog. His pretty nice once you know him, but I think your human scent may have set 'em off. Here boy…. You see that? Not dinner, got it?"

Sans moved to point at Frisk. Frisk's heart pounced while the dog looked between her and Sans. It's tail lowered obediently and it gave Sans a slightly fearful look before leaving.

Frisk looked on with wide eyes.

 _He just went up and ordered the dog that just killed me… or did it? It couldn't have been a dream, right? Because I've never seen that dog before…_

Sans turned to her with a grin.

"see what I mean? So, are you going to stop swimming in the snow or what?"

Frisk frowned, not amused. He had no idea…

Sans took a few steps towards her, slowly offering his hand. Frisk glared at it.

"c'mone, I'm not gonna bite. And there is no whooping cushion, I promise."

Frisk contemplated it before huffing and getting up on her own, legs still shaking. Somehow, her side ached even more.

Sans blinked before shrugging. "eh. Suit yourself. Jeez guy, you sure do know how to pick'em."

"…" Frisk decided it wasn't worth asking. This skeleton did lots of weird things, anyway. If she questioned them all, by the time she was done _she_ would be a skeleton.

 _I wonder how that works, anyways…._ Frisk wondered, looking him over again. _How do they... how are they brothers… how would a skeleton…_ She found herself staring at his crotch, of all places.

Unfortunately, he noticed.

"Someone's curious, aren't we? Or do I just have a _bone_ -er."

Frisk quickly covered her mouth and looked away feeling her cheeks burn. And struggling to _not_ laugh.

She failed miserably. She just couldn't contain it.

 _Of all the jokes, of all the puns, WHY?_

Frisk ended up falling over, laughing hysterically and clutching her side.

"wow. You are all quiet and serious until I bust out the d-joke, huh. Diiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrty."

"I hate you." Frisk managed to fit into her laughing fit. Whenever she thought she was done the joke came to her mind again, and it started all over again.

"what was that? I couldn't catch that between your hysterical enjoyment of my joke." Sans said with a wink.

"This… isn't…. Enjoyment…. Its… hell…" Frisk huffed. Now she was coughing and trying to breathe. Her stomach _hurt._

 _I don't think I ever laughed that much in my whole life. Why did it have to be at a d*ck joke?_

"oh stop it, you found that joke very humerus."

" _stooooooooooop_." Frisk moaned.

"Sans, what is going on Here? I heard a bunch of noise and I- GREAT WATERFALL, IS THAT A HUMAN?!"

Frisk jumped and looked behind her.

Papyrus.

"uuuuuhhhhhh…." Sans started, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his skull.

"Maybe?"

* * *

 **Warning: the pacing gets really, really horrible for a few because around this time I was losing a bit of motivation and needed a break. The only thing keeping me going through these few was making horrid jokes. I'm sorry.**

 **Until we meet again-**

 **Comycat~**


	6. Chapter 5- Icy

"OH MY GOD. " Papyrus screeched, holding his head dramatically.

Frisk stared at him, wide eyed and half smiling. Wonderful. She didn't know if she should be scared or beat the crap out of Sans. Sans looked at her with a huge grin that made her want to spit.

Papyrus quickly snapped into a more dignified position and cleared his throat.

"Human! It is I, the great Papyrus! Ohhhhh, I can't wait! I'll be so… popular!" Papyrus broke his dignified demeanour and started jumping up in down in excitement.

"uhhh…" Frisk stared on in confusion. _This guy is a total nutcase… I don't know how I was ever scared of him… I'm more concerned for the safety of my brain cells._

"Go ahead if you dare, human! My puzzles await you! Then, I will capture you! Nyeh heh heh!" Papyrus sprinted away, his red fur scarf flapping behind him.

"…"

"that went well, huh. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye socket out for ya, as I said before." He didn't look at her.

Frisk stood up, shaking snow from her pants and sweater.

"by the way, why were you so freaked out earlier? Before the dog. Just curious." Sans voiced the question casually, but something seemed even more off. Dangerous. The fur on her tail stood on end.

Frisk swallowed hard, remembering her _death._ Waking up next to that star. Could she tell him? No, she'd sound like a nutcase.

"…nothing worth explaining now…"

Sans stared at her hard, frowning. The lights in his eyes were dim and sharp. Frisk took a tiny step back, getting somewhat nervous. _Why did he change so suddenly?_

Sans started walking past her with his hands in his pockets, all hints of seriousness melting away.

"Alright then. I'll meet you up ahead then."

"o-okay…." Frisk said uncertainly as the skeleton walked away. It was weird interacting with someone she didn't know like this.

Frisk looked back, back at the star. Sans didn't even acknowledge it. Could he see it?

"You are _such_ an idiot." A familiar voice chirped ahead of her.

Frisk growled and turned, taking a few steps back. Flowey. His powder blue petals almost seemed to melt into the snow. _How is he here, of all places?_

"I can't believe _you_ have more determination than me. Really."

The word _determination_ made her heart skip a beat. _What did he mean by that?_

Flowey stretched his stem and looked at her like she was a small child… despite her towering over him.

"alright, I'll explain. I take it you've died?"

"…"

"judging by that look on your face, I'm correct. Well, that star over there gives you the power to _save._ When you die, you reset to your last save. Like a game."

Frisk glanced at the star quickly, not taking her eyes off of Flowey. _A… game?_

"you can also reset to your last save manually. But you probably don't know how to do that. You'll figure it out soon enough. When you make a _mistake._ Or will you?" Flowey expression went dark. "You saw it yourself. They're _dangerous._ It's either you kill, or be killed. Get it now?"

Frisk felt a shiver pass through her body, remembering the feeling of the dagger passing through her flesh. But…

If she hadn't flinched, the dog wouldn't have attacked. And what about Sans? And Asgore? And all the monsters in the Ruins?

" _I know plenty of monsters who are just as scared of you as you are of them."_

Sans's words came to mind. They weren't _evil,_ they were scared, right?

Frisk shook her head, glaring at the flower.

"no. Now if you excuse me, I have things to do." Frisk prepared herself for the bullets. She was _done_ listening to this flower, even if she was still scared after their first encounter. He was just a _flower_ , right?

Flowey let out a laugh.

"heh, getting bold, are we? You'll see. You can't save everyone. You're a _coward_ who can't fight for the life of you. What's the point of determination when all you do is sit there with your little tail between your legs, shaking and crying "oh please, Asgore! Don't kill me!" pathetic."

Frisk flinched, the words burning. Something in her chest dropped.

Flowey grinned, showing his sharp fangs.

"that's right, coward. You'll see. Soon you'll be covered in blood- yours or theirs, it doesn't matter."

Flowey disappeared into the ground, the snow filling the hole he left.

Frisk didn't move. She shut her eyes, tightly.

 _He's right. I am a coward… I'm scared of every little thing. I always was… I was never able to make that go away… but… I promised Asgore… I promised him… I can't break that…_

Frisk reached into her bag, pulling out the dagger. She pulled the cover off, looking it over. The blade was still sharp and shiny. The hilt was worn and torn, but that didn't really matter.

 _Just in case…_

She put the cover back on and shoved it in her pants pocket, ignoring the way the end stuck out.

Frisk took awhile before she was able to move onward, Flower's words still ringing in her ears. The path went straight ahead. She was mindful of her surroundings, the wide open frightening her. She could be seen from miles away, the way her blue and magenta sweater stuck out in the snow.

Soon she came upon what seemed to be an empty, abandoned station with dog treats all over. As she was investigating, a voice screeched behind her.

"HEY!"

Frisk leaped an impressive distance into the air, twisting to face the sound of the voice. Her world faded into black and white again.

Behind her was a monster whose lower body was shaped like a chicken, except with fur. The upper half looked like a feathery snowflake with eyes and a beak. It's entire body was a very pale blue, almost white. The only thing that stuck out was it's pastel yellow beak.

Frisk took a few steps back, hand nervously finding it's way to the dagger in her pocket. _Only if I have to…_ she told herself.

Her heart pounded as the monster looked her over.

"HEY, you look FUNNY! Whatever, an audience is an audience, right?"

 _Audience?_

"I'm Snowdrake! You ready to hear some AWESOME jokes!"

"No." Frisk said on impulse, remembering the… bone incident earlier. She regretted her choice instantly.

"HOW RUDE!" Snowdrake screeched in anger, and suddenly Frisk was pelted with ice. Frisk yelped and jumped away, only to be pelted more. It hurt, but it wasn't life threatening, she realized.

That just filled her with anger. But she resisted cursing at the monster. If she pissed it off even more, it _could_ turn life threatening.

Once the ice attack stopped, Frisk stood, holding her cheek.

"You wanna hear some jokes now?" the monster asked smugly.

Frisk opened her mouth to say no, then thought better and closed it.

"I guess…" She growled through gritted teeth.

"Alright! Okay... here's a good one!"

Snowdrake puffed it's chest out.

"one of our favorite meals here is macaroni and ' _freeze'_."

Frisk frowned as Snowdrake stared at her expectantly. Internally, however, she was screaming.

"uhhhh, this your cue to LAUGH."

 _I only laugh at what's funny... mostly..._ Frisk thought bitterly. After a moment Snowdrake let out an extremely high pitched scream and started pelting her with ice again.

"YOU RUDE LITTLE DOG!"

 _Dog?_

Frisk covered her face with her arms, and she couldn't supress her growls.

"Let's try that again!" Snowdrake puffed.

"So... hah! Last week, a serial killer murdered someone... in COLD blood!"

Frisk's eyes twitched as she forced out a few of the fakes the laughs she ever heard. Despite the sarcasm behind them, Snowdrake smiled widely and started laughing and jumping around.

"see! Laughs! Dad was WRONG! Don't worry, I've got plenty more where that came from!"

Frisk groaned and prepared herself for the onslaught. She _really_ should have made Sans stay with her.

...

Frisk approached Sans, aching from the ice she had been pelted with. Her hair was messy, and each and every bad snow pun echoed through her head.

Sans smiled at her knowingly.

"hear any _cool_ puns, Puppo?"

" _Noooooooooooo_ Sans, I swear to god I will snap your neck." Frisk growled. Screw fear, she just went through _hell_.

Sans put his hands up in mock fear.

"Okay okay, you don't like climate related puns. So far the only ones that check by you are d*ck jokes, huh."

"Saaaaaaaaannnnnsssss, no."

"saaaaaaaaaannnnnssss yes."

"I AM NOT IN THE MOOD."

"Jeez, it's that time of month, isn't it."

Despite her best efforts, Frisk couldn't supress a few giggles. She face-palmed herself, cursing internally.

Sans snorted.

"what's up with you only getting humour out of the dirtiest things? I shouldn't talk, but It's kinda concerning."

"shut up. Period jokes aren't funny."

"then why did you laugh."

"that was me suffering."

"in that case I should finish the experience by throwing ice at you."

"if you do I will knee you in the crotch. I am _not_ doing that _ever_ again."

Sans rolled his eyes... well, the lights in them.

"Yeah right, until you come across another new monster you're terrified of."

Frisk's brow furrowed.

"were you watching that whole thing?"

"maybe."

Frisk threw her arms in the air.

"Why didn't you help Me!"

"I don't think we're _friendly_ enough for that. You've proven you don't want help, remember?" Sans said with a slight teasing tone.

Frisk put her arms down. _He's sorta got a point... but..._

"...okay, even if I didn't let you help me up, that doesn't mean you should sit there and watch me suffer."

"Hey, you looked like you were having fun."

"yeah, next time you're being pelted with ice I'll be sure to remind you of that fact."

"heh. Sure, puppo."

"...puppo?"

"Yeah. Your new name."

"... why, out of all people I had to meet first, why'd it have to be you." Frisk groaned.

"hey." Sans winked. "Maybe if you want help next time you're being pelted with ice, you should try being nicer. You're hurting my feelings."

"I'm being sarcastic." Frisk replied. _Somewhat, anyways..._

"hi being sarcastic, I'm Sans."

"... I take that back." Frisk shook her head, as if trying to make the puns go away. _Why couldn't everyone out here be a Asgore... you know, I just realized... I've never acted like this before..._ Frisk's frustrated expression turned to a thoughtful one. _I'm a lot more used to these guys than I thought... more than I've ever been with actual people, anyways. They're still scary, but that's only at first. Maybe..._ she felt a slight smile creep onto her lips.

 _Maybe I can prove Flowey wrong after all._

…

Frisk slid on the ice calmly, loving the way she didn't have to move at all. She always loved sliding on ice- usually icy puddles, but still ice. Now she was trying to reach the sign someone so nicely placed in the middle of a little frozen pond. What's the point of that anyways?

Her new tail came in handy when it came to balancing herself. She had grown used to it being there, though she forgot it existed at points. But now she was able to use it to her advantage, balancing herself on the slippery ice.

There was snow around the sign, so she was able to stop herself before running into it. The wood looked like it was rotting and the paint worn, but she was able to make out the words.

 _North: Ice_

 _South: Ice_

 _West: Ice_

 _East: snowdin town… and more ice._

"nice selection." Frisk muttered. She remembered what Asgore said about the farther east you go, the colder it got. She shivered involuntary. How could they live like this?

Frisk moved on, felling a little more certain of herself now that she knew where she was headed.

Her ears picked up the echo of a familiar voice, and Frisk stopped, ears swiveling to locate the sound.

"… Sans, are you sure you turned off the lights before you left the house?" it was Papyrus.

"Yeah, bro." Sans said.

"absolutely positive."

"yes."

"I don't believe you."

"c'mon, throw me a _bone_ here." She could see his pun-smile In Her head, And couldn't help but groan.

"SANS."

Frisk headed toward the voices, but stayed near the trees. She wanted to be able to evaluate whatever situation she would arrive in before she did so.

The two skeletons stood in a clearing, and in front of them the snow was cleared in a large, neat square. She could hear the faintest buzzing sound. Despite her best efforts to stay concealed, Sans looked her direction the second she approached.

Frisk growled as he gave her a knowing glance. _Is that guy physic or something? Well… I wouldn't rule it out…_

Frisk sighed and stepped out into the open, grabbing the edge of her sweater in nervousness. Papyrus didn't seem too dangerous, more egotistical than anything, but better safe than sorry.

Papyrus perked up the second she stepped out. "HUMAN!"

 _Skeleton._ Frisk said in her mind.

"In front of you lies the infamous electricity maze, cleverly crafted and set by yours truly, the great Papyrus!"

Frisk squinted at the clear patch, looking closely. It easy hard to believe there were real walls on this thing. But the electric part did explain the buzzing sound, so she decided it was not safe to walk across. Papyrus pulled out a large blue orb from seemingly nowhere. She could see the snow reflecting off of it.

"When you run into the walls, you will be delivered a hearty shock! Sound Fun? Because the amount of fun you'll have… is rather quite low actually…" Papyrus trailed off. Frisk was torn between fear and a _wtf am I doing_ feeling.

Papyrus shook his head. "never mind. Okay, you can go now!"

Frisk stayed frozen in place, looking around.

 _How would I tackle this without getting shocked… wait, I got it._

Frisk turned to pick up a stick from the trees behind her. She could poke around the walls and see where they were without getting zapped.

"Human, what are you doing? Why aren't you doing the puzzle?"

"clever puppo." Sans chuckled. Frisk turned and frowned at him.

 _Thanks for the help._

She approached the clear patch cautiously, keeping the stick straight ahead of her. She saw Papyrus scratch his head in confusion.

Eventually, the stick bumped up against something. She heard a loud zap sound, and some very upset sounding skeleton noises. She looked up to see Papyrus literally smoking, eye sockets wide.

Frisk blinked. _What just…_

Papyrus stomped his foot on the ground, sending snow flying up. Frisk jumped.

"Sans! What did you do?!"

Sans shrugged.

"nothin'. Though I think the human has to hold the orb."

"oh."

Frisk glared at the two skeletons.

 _He is a complete idiot… and I was scared of this guy? Ever? I think I'm safe for the time being._

Neither of them seemed that threatening, now that she thought of it. Sans was friendly and just liked to mess with people, and Papyrus was turning out to be dull as a rock. He reminded her of an overexcited kid.

Papyrus started walking towards her, turning and avoiding the invisible walls with ease. He must have memorized the pattern.

Frisk noticed that he tracked snow along his path. Even if she couldn't remember the way he walked now, she could just follow the snow. She felt a twinge of relief.

"Hold this!" Papyrus threw the orb into the air and ran back across the maze. It landed on her head with a thump.

 _Ow…._ Frisk thought with a flinch. The impact hurt. Papyrus probably didn't realize because his head was much harder.

She looked back up at Sans, who was still grinning lazily. He gave her a wink.

 _This is what he meant, I guess._

Frisk took a breath and followed the tracks, careful to keep her form as small as possible. She didn't want to brush against the walls be accident. The static in the air was making her hair stand and the fabric of her sweater to crack. Despite this, she made it through without any difficulty.

Papyrus looked quite shocked at this... No pun intended.

"You slippery snail? You solved it so quickly… and easily! Don't worry, I'll make the next one even better! Nyeh heh heh!"

With that, the flamboyant skeleton ran off through the snow.

"…" Frisk watched him in confused silence. He was so odd… yet something about him was oddly charming, and she felt bad for mentally calling him an idiot.

"… you see that outfit he's wearing?" Sans asked, breaking the silence.

Frisk nodded. As if she could miss the bright red scarf and black cape.

"We made that for a costume party a while back. He hadn't worn anything since. Keeps calling it his 'battle body'. Man, isn't my brother the coolest?"

Frisk had tuned out at "battle body" and raised and eyebrow, fighting the smile that crept onto her face. Sans raised an eyebrow bone back. His smile grew a little dirtier.

"I see what's going through that head off yours, puppo. Get your mind outta the gutter."

"like you should be talking, _bone_ boy."

Sans huffed.

"You are one weird human. I hope all humans aren't like you."

"don't we all."

"be pretty hard to get a conversation without including boners till dawn."

"damn you." Frisk said before erupting into giggles.

 _Boners till dawn… whyyyyyyy._

"boners." Sans said randomly. Frisk started laughing harder.

Sans let out a deep laugh of his own. It had that same rumble to it that she could feel in her chest. It was kind of charming, in a way.

"really? All I did was say boners and you lost it. Wow."

The only reply he got was more laughter.

It felt nice to laugh at something, even if it was… inappropriate. It felt like a burden was lifted from her soul. Despite being scared of literally everything, she felt more at ease down here. The monsters so far have shown to be much less judgmental than any human she had met. She could be less guarded.

Frisk eventual calmed down, wheezing. If her sides hurt before, they definitely hurt now.

Sans opened his mouth, but Frisk cut him off.

"no. Don't you dare."

Sans stared at her mischievously.

"what?"

"say the b word."

"what's wrong with boners?"

"SANS!"

"ummm…" Frisk jumped at the sound of a new voice. She turned with her hand still over her mouth.

It was Snowdrake, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"heya." Sans greeted.

"I was gonna ask of you guys wanted to hear some jokes… but maybe I'll just leave you two alone." Snowdrake glanced at the both of them, and she heard Sans snort. She didn't get why.

Snowdrake walked away briskly.

Frisk ran her hand through her hair, trying to smooth it out. "… if I had known talking about boners would make him go away, I would have done so a long time ago. Would have saved me a few bruises."

Sans snorted. "I don't think talking about boners is a valid solution to a problem."

"That's what I thought."

Sans yawned and stretched, taking his hands out of his pockets momentarily.

"well, I gotta go. Meet ya up ahead."

"…sure…?" Frisk replied uncertainly.

"see ya." Sans began waking away. Frisk noticed the prints left by his slippers were hauntingly familiar.

 _Those are the same prints that where by that stick…_ she thought, kneeling down to look at them. _How did they just show up out of nowhere and disappear? And how did that stick break? It didn't snap when I stepped on it, but it was completely shattered when I went back._

She felt a twinge of uneasiness.

 _I'm letting my guard down too much. I can't get to comfortable with him, he can still be dangerous._ She knew it was easier said than done. Sans had a friendly, smiling atmosphere that made it hard to stay guarded around him.

Frisk shook her head to clear it and moved on, putting her feet in his footprints. Her feet were much smaller, and she was reminded of slightly smaller than average shoe size. They felt even smaller when compared to monster feet.

Up ahead, his footprints disappeared again, leaving her puzzled once more. Freaked out was an understatement.

 _How does he do that? Does he teleport or fly or Something? Is he a pokemon?_

Frisk let out a humored huff at the reference she made in her mind. She wished she had her ds with her now.

 _He reminds me of a stupid, talking marrowak._

Frisk smiled quickly, a rather scary image forming in her head.

 _Scratch that, his head would look so weird on such a little body. Besides, Marrowak can't learn teleport or fly. Unless he's hacker, that is._

Frisk took a breath and forced her mind back to her surroundings. Snow had begun to fall lightly, little white specks floating around gracefully.

She noticed a cart up ahead, a red stripe running across it and making it stand out from the snow.

There was a tall, skinny bunny monster leaning on the cart. He wore a heavy brown coat and deep blue sweatpants. His hood was up, and though his ears poked out they were covered by light brown stocking like things. Ear warmers.

 _I could use those,_ Frisk thought, rubbing one of her pointed ears between her fingers. Despite the fur on them, they were chilled.

The bunny perked up as soon as he saw her.

"OH, a customer! Would you like some nice cocoa?"

Frisk flinched and took a step back, the sudden attention frightening her. She felt the nervous embarrassment she always did when faced with a store clerk or vendor. _Cocoa sounds nice, but I don't have money…_

"uhhh… I'm sorry… I don't h-have any money…"

Frisk felt guilty when the bunny monsters ears dropped.

"oh… well, that's okay! Make sure to come by when you can!" He said with a smile.

Frisk laughed nervously and waved before getting away from that spot. She didn't know why, she was just never good at buying things. It filled her with intense fear of screwing up. Especially when she had no money to start with.

She crossed a small wooden bridge, and once on the other side she noticed a familiar looking jacket in the distance.

 _Sans?_

She walked towards him a little faster. His back was to her. He didn't notice her approach as he always did, which was odd.

Once she was close enough, she got the courage to call out to him.

"Sans? Hey."

Sans jumped slightly and turned to face her.

With a glowing blue tongue sticking out of his mouth.

Frisk froze. Sans stared back with wide eyes.

She felt a shudder go through her body. How did a skeleton have a tongue to begin with? And why was it blue?

"….heyth." Sans said in muffled speech.

"… what are you doing."

"…. Cathing thnow." He answered, pointing at the lightly falling snow.

Frisk blinked, eyes narrowing.

"… can you put that thing away now?" Why was it still out to begin with.

Sans stared at her dumbly. "why?"

"it's creeping me out."

"thine." Sans pulled his tongue back into his mouth. Frisk let out a sigh of relief.

"please don't do that again."

"sorry, just a habit of mine." Sans said with a grin.

He looked pasted her, looking suddenly thoughtful.

"…hey, puppo wanna go get some nice-cocoa?"

 _Nice-cocoa? Is that it's name? I thought he was just saying the cocoa was nice. Huh._

Frisk felt the shyness again.

"um… sorry, I don't have any money…"

"don't worry, we could do an IOU." He winked.

"… I… don't th-"

"c'mon." Sans gestured, walking past her. Frisk sighed and followed.

 _Damn you Sans._

He looked back at her, monitoring her for a second. Something seemed off about that look, I if he were looking for something.

Frisk felt her ears move back. It was as if he could see into her soul. What was with that?

As soon as it showed up, the look was gone, replaced with his usual lazy friendliness.

The bunny perked up again as they approached.

"heya." Sans waved.

"would you like some nice cocoa?"

"yeah." Sans said, glancing at Frisk. She had begin to shy away. " _we'll_ take three."

Frisk gave him a scowl that turned to a confused look. There were only two of them…

"I'm getin' one for Pappy." Sans explained as the bunny monster opened his cart. Frisk felt a sudden blast of warm air. She moved forward slightly. It felt so good to feel some warmth.

As soon as he opened the cart, he closed it, leaving Frisk feeling disappointed. He had pulled out three foam cups. The rune that she had seen all over the ruins was printed on the cups. Frisk stared at them curiously. _I wonder if that's national symbol or something._

"normally that'd be 15 gold, but I'll just take ten." The bunny smiled warmly. "it's real cold out."

Sans reached into his pants pocket and put two gold coins on the cart. They shone brightly. Frisk was a little shocked. _The currency here is gold? That's… I dunno._

Sans handed her one of the cups. "don't worry it's not gonna bite." He said, noticing her hesitation.

Frisk took the cup slowly, feeling the warmth seep into her fingers.

"Thanks." He said to the bunny, giving him a wink. Why did he winked at everything?

The bunny laughed and winked back. "no, I should be thanking you. Stay warm, you two!"

Frisk felt a little better walking away this time. But now she felt bad for burdening Sans.

She opened her mouth, but Sans cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"don't worry about it, it's on me. He knocked off the price of one anyways."

Frisk took a deep breath, trying to get the shyness to go away. She didn't like being treated to anything just as much as she hated getting things herself. She wished she didn't have this crippling shyness. _Ugh, I don't know which is worse, my social skills or my cowardice…_

"…thank you…" She managed to force out of her throat. Sans looked at her through lidded eyes.

"don't mention it. But what's your deal, anyways? The cocoa bunny is one of the nicest guys I've met. Are you scared of everything?"

Frisk scowled.

Sans raised an eyebrow bone.

"I'm not gracing that expression with a description. I know we look scary, but some of us wouldn't hurt a fly. But I guess it's better safe than sorry, right?" Sans opened his cocoa with his teeth and took a sip. Steam rose from the open container.

"wait, how can you…." Frisk trailed off. Skeletons could drink? Where did it go?

"save yourself the trouble." Sans replied.

Frisk opened her own cocoa, wincing as the steam hit her face. It was still too warm for her.

"so, I was thinking. How much should I charge for fried snow?" Sans asked. "I was thinkin' along the lines of 5 gold? Maybe ten."

Frisk exhales loudly. Was that really a question?

"sans…"

"huh?"

"… you can't fry snow."

Sans shrugged.

"eh, doesn't _matter_. I don't got no snow anyways." The skeleton said as a snowflake land3d directly on his nose.

… _. You are so weird... how'd I end up in this situation?_

Frisk asked herself as she looked into the distance. The snow was getting harder.

 _More importantly… how do I get out?_


	7. Chapter 6- Two wolves

Sans walked with Frisk for awhile, passing what seemed to be a former golf hole. And a random snow ball. Wait, no, it was actually a snow decahedron.

He seemed to be going out of his way to be friends with her, she noticed. Not even Asgore smothered her this much. He was kind and gentle, letting her reach her own terms. Sans seemed to be shoving friendliness down her throat.

Frisk was silent the whole way. She took an occasional sip of cocoa (which was very good) and glanced her surroundings from time to time. The snow was clearing again when they came across Papyrus.

He was standing in front of the path, and a little ways away from him was a single piece of paper lying on the ground.

Papyrus stomped the snow. Frisk actually didn't jump this time. "Sans! You said you were just getting the human! Where were you!"

Sans opened Papyrus's cocoa and held it up, showing him.

"hey, easy bro, looks like you're really _steaming._ I just grabbed some nice cocoa."

"SANS! I accept your gift, but not your pun."

Frisk was not amused, and her expression told so.

 _Are all monsters out of the ruins this obsessed with puns?_

Papyrus walked across the open space to take his cup from his brother. Sans winked at him. "aw, c'mon, I got a _femur_ for you."

"NYEEEEEEEH!" Papyrus picked up a handful of snow and chucked it at his brother. It hit the shorter Skeleton's face and slid to the ground with an unceremonious plop.

 _Thank you Papyrus, I was meaning to do that._ Frisk said to herself.

Sans didn't even react, still standing with a wide grin and relaxed posture.

"anyways, if my brother is done ruining my moment, here is the next puzzle!"

Papyrus dashed back to his starting spot, and made a weird looking pose.

"Human! This is your next challenge, crafted by Sans!" Papyrus broke out of his pose. " wait, brother, what is the puzzle."

"it's right there." Sans replied, pointing at the paper.

"Really? Could you be any lazier?"

"you want me tibia honest with you?"

Papyrus groaned loudly as Frisk decided to grow a pair and throw snow at Sans just as Papyrus did. Papyrus let out a laugh.

"Good job human!"

Frisk took a step back, just to be sure. Sans hadn't moved and that was bugging her.

"Hey, puppo, you threw snow at the guy who bought you cocoa? How rude."

"oh… I'm s-sorr-HEY!"

Frisk jumped back as snow was chucked at _her_ face. She rubbed at Her face and shook her head in an attempt to get the burning cold substance off. She could hear Sans laughing.

"Sans, that was mean!" Papyrus scolded.

"hehehe… Karma, bro."

Frisk growled under her breath and stuck her tongue out at the skeleton. Sans copied her motion with his own unusually large blue tongue.

"… Sans, you're teaching the human bad habits! Put that thing away, please!"

Sans turned and aimed his tongue at Papyrus instead, and Frisk had to supress a giggle- It was quite comical.

"Sans, I said put it away! Do I have to get the mustard again?!"

Sans pulled his tongue back in his mouth at an amazing speed, and his eyes went dark for a split second. He looked much more threatening without the lights in his eyes, and Frisk shivered nervously.

"c'mon bro, I wouldn't be so _marrow_ minded if I were you."

Sans's serious expression was replaced by his shit eating 'I just made a pun haha' face as Papyrus threw his arms in the air and screamed like a banshee in delirium.

"Brother I swear to Asgore I will-"

"Not in front of the pup, bro."

"Oh, of- wait, I thought that was a human."

Frisk's eyes narrowed. "I am a human. Not a dog."

"Yeeeeaaaah, sure." Sans looked at her non-human ears, and Frisk looked down.

 _Not like I asked for these…_

"Alright, human! You may proceed to solve my brother's puzzle!" Papyrus motioned to the paper.

Frisk stared at it skeptically before approaching it. It was a kids word search. Frisk looked up, feeling annoyed.

"Sans! The human doesn't like your puzzle! It's too easy! You should have used junior jumble!"

"word scrambles are easy. This is the real big bones stuff, junior jumble is for baby bones."

"It is not! Human! Which is harder, the word search or the junior jumble?" Papyrus looked at her expectantly.

"uh…. I don't know…." Frisk replied. _How'd I get involved?_

"Of course you do! No need to be shy, human!"

"ummm…. I've never tried either…. But I think word searches are harder… I guess."

Sans grinned and watched Papyrus look from her to Sans.

"You two find difficulty in the weirdest places! Nyeh!" Papyrus dashed away, presumably to work on his next "challenge".

"he's the one who finds difficulty in the weirdest places. He got stumped trying to "solve" the horoscope yesterday." Sans said.

Frisk snorted. _I'm sorry buddy, you don't solve horoscopes._

Frisk finished the last of her cocoa and put the empty cup in her bag, saving it till she could find a trash bin to throw it in. Sans raised an eyebrow bone at her.

"I don't like to litter." She explained.

"eh."

"littering is bad, Sans. You are going to kill all the penguins."

"No penguins down here, bud. Hey, I was just gonna take a shortcut, but I guess I'll walk with ya. Lesser dog is supposed to be 'round here and last time you met up with him he rattled your bones." Frisk groaned and pinched her nose. She was going to hear these in her sleep. Particularly in nightmares.

"unless you don't want me too. I wouldn't want to intrude on an aloof furry with a dagger, would I?" His eyes were on her pocket. Frisk took a step back, her heart jumping. He noticed? But was it really any of his Business? She hadn't used it. Despite his joking tone, there seemed to be a warning beneath his words. An unsaid threat. Frisk felt her tail lower in nervousness.

"n-no, it's fine…"

Sans shrugged.

"hey. Just sayin."

Sans turned around and began walking, and Frisk took that as her cue to follow. She felt like her mind was running in twelve different directions. At first Sans was friendly and nice, but there were more than one occurrence of warning and seriousness. And he was mysterious. What about the stick? The disappearing footprints? It shook her to the core, and Frisk didn't know what to think.

She wanted to believe he was friendly and nice, so she decided to push her questions aside for now and play along. He seemed to be trying hard, after all. Despite this, she reminded herself not to get too comfortable all the same.

Frisk was broken from her thoughts by her new view of Sans's back. The back of his jacket had the design of a howling wolf, blue mist spewing from its mouth. Frisk blinked and walked a little faster so she was besides him.

"Sans?"

"hmmm? What is it, puppo?"

Frisk hesitated, but her soul was burning with curiosity and not even shyness could halt it.

"are…. Do wolves have any sort of… significance down here?" The canine appearance, her tail and ears, and the wolf design… were they connected?

Sans let out a hum and nodded. "yep."

"how… so? If you don't mind me asking…"

"well, it just sort of pops up here and there."

"How so?"

"Well." Sans adjusted his sleeve as he spoke. "It just shows up everywhere. Like how when in Blizzardland, aka former hotlands, the crops sway in the wind. When that happens, the monsters say the wolf is running. And when the wind lays them flat, they say they have been trampled by the wolf. Little things and expressions like that."

Frisk took it all in, becoming more fascinated.

"That… sounds cool."

Sans chuckled softly.

"Yeah. I guess. There's also a legend… they say it's an old human legend. That everyone has two wolves in them. And that one represents everything good, like kindness and humility and honor, all that jazz. And the other represents bad things, like greed and ego and stuff. These two wolves fight and the winner is the one that shows the most in a person. And the one that wins is the one you feed. You humans come up with some weird stuff, oh boy."

"I could say the same about you."

"heh, yeah, I guess. But I have to say, it's a pretty good representation of things. Especially down here." The lights in Sans's eyes narrowed and his grin widened, giving him an almost predatory look. "We've all got a little wolf in us, don't we?"

Frisk felt a chill go down her spine, and she immediately thought of her ears and tail. She stared at him hard, trying to read what he meant by that, but his face had already went back to his lazy, soft expression.

Frisk rubbed her ear between her fingers, feeling the soft fur. _It's almost like… he knows how I got these… it's true, he does look a little canine, and so does his brother. And some of the monsters in the ruins did as well._

Frisk shook her head and decided to let it drop for now. She felt like she got all she could out of him, and it would be weird to ask how she grew a magic pair of ears and a tail.

"so… you said something about a place called Blizzardland? What's That?"

"It's the place past waterfall, which is to the east of Snowdin. It used to be called Hotlands because of the magma flowing through it, but it got colder and colder. Some sort of magical ice was encasing the magma somehow, and eventually there was none left. Soon high winds and blizzards hit, and that is where the name comes from. It's the best place to grow food because of the nutrients in the soil. A scientist named made it possible to grow different crops there through gene splicing, so that's where a majority of our food comes from." Sans stretched and cracked his neck.

"You seem awfully interested in us for a human." He added. His eyes burned a hold straight to her soul.

Frisk looked away.

"… why… wouldn't I be?"

"most human are either scared to death of us or treat us like complete garbage. At least, through my experience."

"well…" Frisk grabbed her scarf to calm her nerves. "I've always been curious… I like learning about stuff like that. History and myths and stuff. It fascinates me. And besides, you guys seem close enough to people for me. But… to be honest… I'm still scared to death of you guys." Frisk flinched at the memory of Flowey's scathing voice, calling her a coward. It hurt to realise he was still right.

"huh. Cool. Didn't think humans were into that jack. Hey, watch your step, there used to be spikes here."

Frisk looked down to see little holes scattered across the ground in neat rows, stretching across the entire path.

"…why?"

"trap. But it was taken out because spikes are a danger to children."

"… I think spikes are a danger to humans too." Frisk muttered, watching the little holes to be sure spikes didn't shoot out of them.

"woooooow, I never knew. I thought humans _loved_ having sharp metal objects shoved in their feet. "

Frisk snorted at Sans's sarcasm.

"Yeah, we're an entire race of people that get off on having metal spikes shoved in our feet, that's right."

"better feet than other places."

"I would imagine that would be painful."

"heh, you'd probably need an ibe _bone_ fen for that."

"no… wait, that exists down here?"

"yeah."

"cool."

"don't be getting no ideas to shove spikes in inappropriate places buddo. You'd have a very bad time."

"that wasn't what I meant and you know it, Sans."

"well, just wanted to clarify because There are spikes over there."

Frisk looked ahead and indeed, there was a line of tall spikes blocking the path.

"…oh."

"you could just jump em. That's what pap and I do, anyways."

"yeah."

"but there is a puzzle."

"and?"

"you should solve it."

"why?"

"because it makes my brother happy."

"… fine. What do I do."

"step on those platforms once. They will turn to 0's. Then hit the gray switch."

Frisk looked to see two X shaped platforms in the snow, separated by frozen rocks.

"that's… it?"

"yup."

"… nothings going to shoot me, Right?"

"nope."

"or shock me?"

"nuh-uh."

"stab me?"

"no."

"poison me?"

"no, nothing is going to poison, shoot, stab, shock, burn, hit, molest, defile or send you into any form of disarray or injury if you step on the platforms."

"…. Are you positive?" Frisk didn't trust those platforms. It was like a sign reading "trap" in flashing neon colors.

"oh sweet tori… look. Watch."

Sans walked over to one of the platforms and placed a single foot on it. Frisk was startled as the X changed to an 0.

"see? No harm. You do that one."

Sans pointed at the second platform. Frisk stared at it uncertainly before getting an idea. She picked up a loose rock and threw it onto the platform. The X changed to an 0, just like the other platform.

"…. Seriously?"

Frisk shrugged.

"I did it, didn't I?"

"… You fail puzzle class."

Sans decided he would hit the switch before there was more added to the assurance of puzzle safety manual. The spikes went down with a squeak.

"… why didn't we walk over them again?"

"I dunno. But here comes Paps."

On cue, Papyrus came running to meet them, looking slightly worn out.

"Brother, human! I, the grea- you solved it." Papyrus stopped, looking down where the spikes used to be.

Papyrus jumped up with glee.

"Great job, human! You seem to share my love for puzzles! I'm sure you will love the next puzzle! I even modified it for you! Heh heh heh Nyeh!"

Frisk turned to Sans and silently mouthed "help me."

"I'm not getting you out of this one." Sans said with an evil chuckle.

Frisk growled and shot him a betrayed look. _Bastard._

"well, I've got something to do. Go do some puzzles with my brother." Before Frisk could reply, Sans winked and walked back the way they came from, leaving her alone with the tall, hubristic skeleton.

Papyrus didn't notice Frisk's unease and was filled with joy.

"Yay! Nyeh heh heh, follow me human!"

Papyrus took a few bounding steps and looked behind him to be sure Frisk was following. Frisk took a gulp of air and followed.

She had to walk briskly to keep up with the hyperactive skeleton. He becoming mpre and more harmless by the second in Frisk's eyes. His enthusiasm was almost contagious.

Almost.

"My brother started a sock collection recently!" Papyrus stated, his voice so loud it echoed through the air. Frisk's ears tilted back due to it.

"…"

"Its very saddening! I wonder what he would do without such a cool guy taking care of him! Nyeh!"

 _Sure it isn't the other way around?_

"My brother is very weird, am I right?"

"…"

"Human?"

Papyrus stopped and turned around abruptly, the sudden motion making Frisk jump.

Papyrus cocked his head to one side similar to the way a dog would.

"No need to be shy, human! I, the great Papyrus, is nothing to be shy of!"

"…"

"… I would have gotten a better response from a rock, Nyeh heh heh. Don't worry, the great Papyrus will get out to come out of your shell soon enough!" Papyrus struck a pose and continued.

Frisk had to supress a giggle. _Good luck with that. Challenge accepted._ (Lol I wanna make her dab now with the deal with it sunglasses ^x^)

Papyrus lead her to a much larger arrange of X platforms, with more rocks separating them.

"Human! Hmmm… how do I say this? You were taking awhile to arrive, so I decided to improve this puzzle by arranging the rocks and snow to look like my beautiful face!"

Frisk raised a brow, but said nothing.

"in the process, I may have... changed the solution? What I'm saying is, worry not dear Human! I, the great Papyrus, will help you solve this conundrum! Then we can both proceed!"

"… wait, where is Sans?" Frisk asked quietly.

"hmmm? What was that Human? You need to speak up!" Papyrus moved a little closer.

 _Maybe my voice is too quiet for someone that shouts most of the time._

"I was… just wondering where Sans is. Wouldn't he want to proceed too?"

"Oh, my brother! Don't worry about him. He has… other means of getting across. Like I said, he's weird."

 _Other… means? What, does he teleport or something? Wait, didn't I ask that before in the same sarcastic manner? He better not actually have teleportation powers or I swear I will slap myself._

"What's with that look, human? Is something ailing you?"

Frisk snapped out of her daze and gave him a nervous smile.

"oh, no, it's nothing!"

"good! Well, I guess I'll let you try the puzzle yourself first. I'll try not to give away the answer!"

 _O-okay… so I just need to step on these… nnnnnhhhh._

Frisk put her foot over the closest platform, then hesitated and pulled it back.

 _I don't like these… wait, it looks like I may have to go through a certain way, I don't think I can step on them twice. Can I? Well, better safe than sorry._

Frisk surveyed the puzzle, becoming deep in thought.

 _Hmmm… if I go this way, I would have to go through that loop there, but then I'll cross over that one… but if I circle around and go through that opening there…_

Frisk's eyes skimmed the path her mind was forming, extra cautious. Then she circled to the opening in the side to take said path.

She slowly pressed her foot to the first platform and jumped high in the air when it changed to an 0.

Actually, maybe she didn't have the guts to do this.

She tested the platform again, and it turned to a triangle. She pulled back when it changed again, like a cat putting it's paw to water.

"You can only step on them once, human." Papyrus said.

"ummm… Papyrus? I… think I know where I need to go… I'm just too jumpy. Can… you do it? I'll tell you where to go…" she cursed internally. She sounded so _stupid._

Papyrus softened. "oh, alright human. You really must learn not to be scared of everything!"

Papyrus hit the gray switch to reset the puzzle then walked over to her. Frisk pointed at the tile in front of them.

"so… first you go up there around that loop," she used her finger to show the path. " then down and you'll come out over there. Then all you need to do is hit those two over there and I t-think we should be good…"

Papyrus put his hand on his chin and followed Frisk's imaginary path, then nodded.

"Yes, that should work. Great job Human! You are very smart! Almost as smart as me, Nyeh heh heh!"

Without warning, Papyrus dashed across the path Frisk had laid out, and Frisk was surprised he didn't slip and hurt himself. He hit every tile then jumped over and hit the switch with overwhelming enthusiasm.

"YAY I DID IT. WE DID IT HUMAN! Nyeh heh heh heh heeeeeeeeeeh! I'll see you at the next puzzle!"

Papyrus ran across the path where the spikes used to be, passing by a familiar jacket wearing skeleton.

 _When did Sans get there? More importantly, why did he just stand there and not help!_

Frisk approached the skeleton, and Sans waved at her.

" _Bone_ jor."

Frisk ignored the pun. "Why didn't you help? And how did you get here?"

"I know a shortcut. And you didn't look like you needed help. Which is good. Cause I love doing absolutely nothing."

Frisk pouted and adjusted her scarf.

"So, you got some sort of fear of x's or something?"

"well, X does mean death, so…"

"remind me never to bring out tick tac toe with you. You'd pee yourself."

"ha ha ha, I'm overwhelmed with your humor." Frisk said dryly.

"Hi overwhelmed with your humor, I'm Sans."

"bye."

Frisk did not care that these monsters could probably have her torn onto a million pieces in a heartbeat, she just _couldn't take the puns._ Any longer and she would have tackled him.

The path ahead was filled with little snow puffs. It almost looked cute.

Until she felt a shaking, that is.

Frisk froze as the ground began to quiver, her heart skipping a few beats.

"P-Papyrus? Sans?" She called out.

"Bwark!"

* * *

 **Uh oh... spaghetti'os!**

 **I am hungry now...**

 **From the wolf in the mountains,**

 **Comycat~**


	8. Chapter 7- The deer

**I forgot to mention that last chapters Wolf thing is actually based off of an old Cherokee legend. And the other wolf thing (the monsters saying the wolf was running) is a reference to an amazing anime! You get a cookie if you can name it!**

* * *

"Bwark!"

Frisk's heart leapt out of her throat as she jumped and twisted her body midair, landing half facing whatever beast awaited her.

Beast?

Dog beast?

It was a huge, snow white dog. He wore gray armor plates attached to each other by some sort of metal wiring, and carried a huge spear with a cute dog face on the pointed end and a worn shovel on the other end. His fitness extremely thick, sticking out in tufts in between The armor pieces.

The dogs fluffy tail swished back and forth as it barked again- a deep, bellowing sound.

Frisk took a shaking step back. Without thinking, she reached a trembling hand into her pocket and pulled out the dagger.

Something popped in her head. _Does it mean harm? Or…_

The dog sat there waiting, it's head tilted expectantly. It looked like a playful puppy.

 _Maybe… that's what he wants?_

Frisk took a deep breath and tried to calm her shaking body as she called to it uncertainly.

"h-hey b-boy, do y-you want to play…?"

The dog let out a loud yip and leaped forward, nearly trampling Frisk as she stumbled away. Her grip tightened on the dagger, but she did not unsheathe it.

 _I guess that's a yes? What do I…_

Frisk looked around her before grabbing a handful of snow, never taking her eyes off the dog. It was so close she could feel it's hot breath as it panted.

"okay….Okay, here… fetch?"

She threw the snowball, and to her surprise the dog bounded after it, it's weight shaking the ground. The snowball burst when it hit the ground, leaving the dog staring at the ground in a confused manner.

 _Oh no…_ Frisk felt her heart beat rocket. _It's going to get mad now…_

Frisk yelped when the dog looked at her. Then the dog shoved it's entire head into the snow and came bounding back over with a mouthful of snow.

Frisk stared as the dog spat the snow out in front of her, most of it now melted.

 _Oh._

The dog shoved it's head closer, waiting for something. It seemed uninterested in the snow now.

 _Does it want to be pet?_

Frisk stretched her hand towards it hesitantly, then jerked it back when the dog sneezed.

The dog whined, looking disappointed.

Frisk reached her hand out again, and the dog stayed still until her hand met the top of its head.

The scratched behind its ear uncertainly, smiling and cringing at the same time as it panted with happiness, sending it's hot and smelly breath her way.

Frisk felt her heart beat slow as she continued running her hand through the dog's soft fur. The dog plopped to the ground and absorbed all of the petting with enthusiasm.

Frisk laughed as it rolled over onto its stomach, spear forgotten. She scratched at its belly, dropping her dagger in the snow.

 _Awww, he didn't mean harm. He's so gosh darn adorable! Awww I love puppies!_

The dog rolled back onto its feet and without warning placed a long, slobber filled lick on her face. Frisk pulled away, still laughing as she tried to wipe the slimy spit off of her face.

The dog let out a contented bark and nuzzled her head before stomping off, grabbing it's spear along the way.

Frisk went into her bag and pulled out the faded ribbon to wipe her face with, feeling happier.

 _That puppy is much nicer than the other puppy! I like that puppy._ She insisted on calling it puppy despite the fact it towered over her.

Frisk put her dagger in its proper place, feeling a twinge of guilt at the fact she even touched it during that exchange.

 _What if I used it? I could of hurt that dog when it only wanted to play… I need to be more careful. I can't listen to what Flowey says._

Frisk shook her head and kept walking along the path. She thought back to the shovel on the end of the dogs spear.

 _He must shovel this place. No wonder he's such a big guy. Poor puppy… I hope he gets a lot of attention._

Frisk spotted a familiar flash of red in the distance and sighed.

 _Here we go._

Frisk found herself actually looking forward to the next 'puzzle' more than she had anticipated she ever would. Papyrus's enthusiasm mixed with his brothers punny antics were like a charm. She still held her suspicions- particularly of Sans- but decided it couldn't hurt to play along. Not like she had much of a choice.

There was a very small bridge she had to cross, and Papyrus noticed her approach as she stepped across. The two skeleton brothers stood beside a rectangular looking machine with little cat or wolf ears on top. Cute. _Wait, I have wolf ears…_

"Human! There you are! You took much longer than I thought you would! What were you doing?!"

Frisk stopped right before a large square filled with little gray squares of differing value- it looked almost like mono-color game board.

"You looked pretty ruffled there puppo." His grin was a bit sharper, and his eyes went back to her pocket. She noticed his shoulders were tense. He looked threatening again.

Frisk scratched the back of her neck and looked down, trying to hide her unease. She couldn't stop her tail from lowering to her legs, however.

"I, uh…. Ran into a really big doggie… he was nice. I played with him a little. I'm sorry…"

Frisk looked back up, and realized Sans had relaxed again. Did he think she hurt the dog?

"Ahh, the Greater dog! Yes, he is very sweet… until he takes my bones, that is!" Papyrus yelled the last part, looking frustrated. Sans chuckled at that.

"heh, looks like he-"

"Sans, No!" Papyrus interrupted, slapping his hand over Sans's mouth.

"It is okay human! Anyways, I've got a brilliant new puzzle for you, designed by the one and only Doctor Alphys! I'm sure you'll love it!"

Frisk's ears perked up at the name. This was the second time this 'Doctor Alphys' was mentioned. Was she important?

"You see these tiles in front of me?" Papyrus asked. Frisk gave a tiny nod.

"Well, when I hit this switch, they will begin to change color! Each color serves a different function. Red tiles are Impassable. You cannot walk on them. Yellow tiles are electric. If you step on them, they will deliver a hearty shock! Green tiles are…"

Frisk tuned out as she tired to put together the previous information, feeling overwhelmed. She could of at least been warned?

When Frisk realized she had tuned out and probably shouldn't have, Papyrus was almost done.

"Finally, pink tiles! You can step on them as much as you like, they don't do anything."

Frisk felt a jolt of fear. _What?_

"How was That? Understand?"

Frisk was about to ask him to explain again, but decided against it. She felt so stupid making him explain again- and he probably didn't want to. She decided trial and error was the only way… the puzzles haven't been too dangerous so far.

"O-okay… I think I get it…" she lied in a small voice. Sans raised an eyebrow bone at her but said nothing.

"Okay human! That's good! Because here I GO!" Papyrus leaned over and turned a dial, and the puzzle sprung to life with a loud pop. The tiles rapidly changed color, like a dance floor having a seizure (lol). Frisk had to looked away due to the sudden brightness.

Soon the colors started to calm down, and eventually stopped to reveal the puzzle…

All the tiles were pink.

Everyone stared in silence at the pink tiles before Papyrus threw his arms in the air and literally _spun_ out of the area.

 _What… just… happened… am I really that lucky?_

The look Sans gave her combined with a knowing wink answered her question.

Frisk walked across the tiles cautiously and slowly, in case they changed again. She hurried once Sans walked over to the machine and put his hand over the knob in a smiling threat.

"Sans, no."

"Sans yes."

Frisk felt a twinge of relief as her feet met snow again.

Frisk glared at Sans with half a mind to curse at him, but his threatening image from before kept her from doing so.

"Hey, don't look at me like that puppo. If it weren't for me you would've been lying on those tiles in cardiac arrest because you can't handle puzzles."

"I can handle Puzzles! Just not puzzles with an X on them… or any puzzle that has the potential to cause serious injury, grotesque maiming, death or any other undesirable medical condition." Frisk felt stupid stating that.

"Suuuuure, you totally knew what to do. Anyways, I have a feeling I should walk this next part with you."

"…why?" Frisk had to hide relief. And confusion. Why was he so eager to walk some of the way with her but not the entire way? Did he know about the Greater dog? Did he plan on her meeting it?

"because your favorite puzzle is approaching and I wanna watch you bust a nut over it."

Frisk scowled. "I have no nuts to bust. I'm female."

Sans winked. "I don't know that for sure, now do I?"

"Its obvious!" Frisk argued.

"Ya never know. I've never seen in your pants, and I don't have any intention of doing so. So don't get your panties in a twist." Activate audible wink.

Frisk pinched the bridge of her nose and inhaled sharply.

"At least I'm not a gender-less child." She muttered.

"There's probably a separate universe where you are." Sans added.

"May the heavens help that poor individual."

Sans snorted and kicked some snow up with his slipper. "Yeah. For all I know you would be dating by brother while he wears some weird basketball shoulder pad things."

"Wait, what?"

"nothing." He said the word like a child caught with his hand in the cookie pot.

Frisk eyed Sans, waiting for him to lead the way. He stared at her with a seemingly blank look before turning and taking lead. Something about his gaze then seemed almost calculating, and it chilled her to the… never mind.

"So, you enjoying your lovely stay here in our humble abode called the underground?" Sans asked while puffing out his chest in an imitation of a fancy hotel waiter. Frisk rolled her eyes and suppressed a smile. _Of all the people…_

"I… dunno…" She answered, amusement fading. She had been too close to a heart attack too many times for comfort, but… She was learning so much. And she met Asgore, someone who really cared about her. Despite her firsthand experience and suspicions of Sans, she enjoyed him company. Papyrus was more than a little daft, but he had a special charm to him. Each monster was so… different, and she felt that even if she was down here for a hundred years she wouldn't get tired of them all.

She also felt telling Sans that she hated his home would be very rude. You don't just Walk- or fall- into a home of monsters and tell them their home sucks.

"hmmmm." Sans answered. He was looking straight ahead. Like he was in deep thought.

Frisk decided she wanted to ask about his... Threatening moments. Was he aware? Was it intentional?

just as she opened her mouth, hell approached in the distance.

Frisk let out a drawn out groan.

It was another X puzzle… but…

It was on _ice._

She could hear Sans chuckling beside her.

"I'm not helping you."

Frisk looked back at him with the most betrayed look she could muster. As she was doing so, movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention.

She looked behind Sans, feeling a little more at ease than she would normally feel. If it was the Lesser or Greater dog, Sans could just tell them off.

But it wasn't.

All she saw was powder blue petals and a wide grin before the snow swallowed it up.

 _F-flowey?! Oh no… why is he?!_

"hey, whatcha lookin at?" Sans looked behind himself, his grin faltering slightly. Frisk realized she must have looked pretty horrified to cause that.

"Oh, it's uh… nothing? Just a…snow?" She stammered, looking down. Her cheeks burned, yet unease wormed it's way into her stomach for the hundredth time that day.

 _Why is Flowey here? Is he with… no, it can't be… I don't want it to be… he must be following us…_

"Ya' sure? You look pretty spooked… rattled to the bone, I'd say."

Frisk stood up, fixing her scarf.

"I say we… just hurry up… and go." She examined him carefully.

For a brief moment he looked behind himself again, fang peeking from his mouth.

"uh, okay Puppo. Pretty quick change in attitude there. Is that a norm for you?" He shoved his hands in his pockets and followed.

"…depends." Frisk answered tightly.

She heard Sans mutter something, but she couldn't make it out. She threw him a questioning glance before hurrying ahead. Getting away from the demon flower (she couldn't believe she would ever have to put those two words together) was more important than odd skeleton behavior.

She stopped in front of the ice. The tiles were arranged in the middle, and she knew she would have to find a way to slide across without touching them twice. Her tail was quivering with dread but her fear of the flower was more powerful.

Or, perhaps, she didn't want to face the fact she was a coward again.

She shook the thought out before taking a slow step onto the ice, testing it.

Sans moved up beside her.

"Its solid. I don't think Pap would be happy if he had to dive into Ice cold water to grab a probably frozen human."

"And a probably dead human." Frisk replied in a serious tone.

"hey, I'm sure a human ice cube would look cool. Faaaancy."

"…I'm going now." Frisk growled.

"Hey, m-" She pushed herself onto the ice before he could finish, her tail doing wonders to balance her. Her feet hit the switch, and it changed to an 0 with a click. Her heart thumped at the sound, but she couldn't stop to think on it. She hit the next switch, which was at the other side of the ice.

Her breath was puffing out In front of her. She looked around again before sliding back onto the ice, sliding to the other side.

She realized with a sudden jolt that the next tile was closer to the edge than it looked. She tried to slow down, but her feet only slipped and lid on the ice.

"Shit!" she cursed as she slid over the switch, throwing her arms out to try to keep from going over. She let out a shriek as it didn't work, and her body felt weightless as she went tumbling over.

The next moment she was hitting heavy snow, sinking into the white substance. The impact wasn't hard, but it brought the air from her lungs anyways. Her side throbbed. She was shaking.

 _Holy shit…. I thought I was going to die… I'm lucky this isn't far down…_ Frisk sighed, ignoring the snow going into her ears. The cold didn't burn as much as it did when she first came out of the ruins. Actually, it made her slightly sleepy.

She heard a muffled thump a little ways away. Followed by a few crunches.

"hey, puppo, you alive there?" Sans asked.

Frisk replied with a long moan into the snow. She didn't even look up.

"since I don't think dead things make sounds, I guess that means yes. You seemed to be in a hurry though."

"…" _I hope Flowey didn't see that. I hope no one saw that. I wish Sans didn't see that._

There was awkward silence before she heard a shuffle of fabric. "Here."

Frisk gathered enough motivation to lift her head. Sans was offering her his hand.

Again? Again.

Frisk's mind went back to the first time he offered to help her up, and how rude she acted. She hesitated before accepting out of guilt (and the fact her side started hurting from the fall).

She was surprised to find he felt warmer than she had expected. Against the cold, it felt like fire. He flinched as her hand touched his. Her hand also looked tiny compared to his. Was his hand big of her hand small?

She could feel strength in his arm as he helped her up, but his touch was unusually gentle. It was odd. She turned to fix her bag.

"I'm surprised you didn't snap my hand off, snap pea. That'd be a Boneafide disaster. Heh, I like that nickname."

"I don't get it, but I feel like going back on the ground is better for my mental state."

Sans pointed behind her. "Hey, if you wanna spend time with them, that's ok."

Frisk looked behind herself- rather frightened- before seeing what Sans was referring to.

"Is that a… Snow Papyrus?" it looked like Papyrus, except with muscles and sunglasses and made of snow. Beside it was a mound of snow with the word "Sans" written on it in what looked like red marker or ketchup.

After noticing this lump, Frisk turned to give Sans a look.

Sans shrugged. "hey, don't judge my Skull-ture."

"How do we get back up." _With no puns included._

"We go up here. Follow me." Sans put his hands back in his pocket before walking towards an upward path.

Frisk followed, examining her hand. It still felt warm and tingly. Magic? That must be why he was so warm. Skeletons usually aren't warm.

The path led wound back up to the ice puzzle. Sans followed her up to the edge.

"Hey, how about you go the way you went before and I'll go the other way? It'll make things simpler. I wanna go home and nap." He finished his sentence with a yawn that made his fangs look much more threatening.

Frisk took a slight step over.

"I-if you want... I thought you said you weren't helping me."

"I don't remember that." Sans replied in a sing-song voice. Frisk huffed good naturedly.

 _Guess he wants to go home and I want to… get away from Flowey. I'm not complaining._

Frisk slid across the ice the same way she went before, this time with much less force. The clicks of the tiles still sent waves of uneasiness through her, but she had figured out they wouldn't hurt her.

They were just like the skeleton brothers. Scary at first, but after awhile non-threatening.

For the most part, anyways.

Sans seemed bent on being friends with her, and she honestly didn't want to fight anymore. He had an atmosphere around him that lightened her mood. No matter how infuriating his puns were, anyways.

After she hit the two switches, she slid back to the start and slid down the middle, hitting the last two tiles and the gray switch that would open up the spikes on the other side. It worked, and she could now proceed.

To her dismay, Sans didn't make any move to go forward. He looked slightly stressed, or perhaps it was in her head.

"I've got something I need to do real quick. Beyond here is a bridge, and then past there is Snowdin town. But I think my brother is waiting for you. I don't know what he'll do now. But he doesn't mean any harm. Just in case, if his attack is blue, hold still. Got it?"

"wait, what?! Why aren't you…" she trailed off. Did he mean Papyrus was going to attack her?

Sans turned around and raised his hand in a farewell.

"hey, don't sweat it. Just do what you've been doing all this time. It's been working, right? You've got a knack for it, snap pea." With that, the skeleton left.

Frisk stared after him.

 _What am I supposed to do!? Fight his brother? Do what I've been doing… wait, that means not fight, right? But how does he know that?_

Frisk adjusted her bag and took a deep breath.

 _Okay, I need to go on. Maybe I can convince him not to fight. Sans did say he doesn't want to hurt me. I promised Asgore. I can't give in now._

Frisk looked up, feeling shaky determination slowly building in the core of her being, her soul. This was the path she was on. She made a promise- and she wasn't going to let a possessed flower or friendly skeleton break it. No matter how frightening.

Frisk took her time going ahead now. Walking slowly. Taking in the scenery. Anything to make to trek to a possible fight take longer.

It was because of this she noticed what seemed to be antlers sticking out from behind a fallen tree to her far right. They swayed back and forth slightly, and were covered in red pipe cleaners.

Frisk froze in her tracks, one arm outstretched. She felt a slight quivering in her chest and tail, and excitement she couldn't describe. But at the same time she was curious and afraid. It looked like it might be stuck, the way it was moving…

Frisk took careful steps towards it, placing one foot in front of the other in a delicate manner she hadn't had before. She found it odd, these new feelings. Why had to she felt like this before when viewing deer or other creatures with antlers? Maybe because It was a monster?

As Frisk got closer, she could hear slight grunts coming from the creature. She crouched behind the log, and hesitantly looked over.

It was a very ugly monster, with a sideways muzzle and various odd items all over it. Air puffed out of its open mouth and it's face wasn't exactly very pretty. It appeared to be stuck under the log, and weighted down by something.

She felt something rumble deep in her throat, but she ignored it and slunk back behind the log. _It needs help… should I?_

She thought on it before silently scolding herself. _These are monsters, not people. People have treated them badly for all of history, so maybe I need to make that change. After all, they are all very kind once you get to know them._ She took a deep breath, steeling her nerves, before standing up.

"um…H-hello." She greeted. The monster's head jerked towards her and an excess of frosty air shot from its nostrils like fire from a dragon.

"Gosh darn it, leave me alone ya beast! Don't you think you canine monsters have tormented me enough!? Now shoo! Shoo!"

Frisk yelped as pellets of ice were shot at her. She ran back the way she came, frightened, before stopping and giving an aggravated growl.

 _Jez, all I said was Hi! I was going to help! Wait… he said "canine monsters"… he thinks I'm a monster?_ Frisk reached up and rubbed her ear between her fingers. _Now that I think of it, Sans and Papyrus look a little canine… just like some of the other monsters. And… he's a deer monster… that excitement I felt… I need to go back. He needs to tell me more._ Frisk started making her way back, preparing herself for whatever onslaught she had to face.

The deer monster caught her approach this time.

"I told ya to leave me alone! I'm not yer dinner!"

"I-I'm not looking f-for trouble… I just want to help… sir…" Frisk put up her hands and tried to look as small as possible.

The deer snorted.

"Why would ya wanna help me? Your either A- gonna try to eat me or B- decorate me with all this stupid junk! I'm not yer tree!"

"D-decorate you? Like… a Christmas tree…" Frisk had to slap her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud. So that's why…

"It ain't funny dammit! Wait, why wouldn't ya know about that?"

"oh, I'm… I'm…a…" Frisk had the feeling she shouldn't say human. Unfortunately, the monster squinted and caught on.

"Oh, I see. Yer not a monster, are ya? Been awhile since I've seen me a human, a live one at that. Never seen one with beast ears, though."

Frisk flinched as if she were slapped.

"…I was, uh, hoping you could… tell me if you know anything about that… you see, humans aren't supposed to have this."

The monster threw it's head back and let out a deep laugh.

"Hah, so that's it. Ya don't wanna help me, you want information. That's the way all things are, you give somethin' for somethin' back. Even us monsters are like that. Ya' can't gain nothin without givin' somethin up in return."

"N-no, I didn't mean it like that. I want to help you too, it's just-"

"I wasn't sayin anything bout that. I can't. That's the way life works. Livin' things weren't made to be nice, ya know. We were made to be nasty, to think about ourselves and our survival. Even us monsters. It takes a certain strength to be above that, a strength neither you or I have. Now, I'll let ya help me. You don't seem like ya got the heart to hurt nobody, with your tail between your legs."

Frisk flinched and lifted her tail slightly.

"I can get outta this tree just fine, it's just these darn decorations weighing me down. If ya really wanna help, take em off."

"O-okay…" Frisk moved closer and slowly knelt in the snow, never taking her eyes off the deer beast. Up close, it's breath smelled like decaying leaves. It took awhile for her to unwrap the pipe cleaner and everything attached to it ( all the while being snapped at for every little jerk and pull) and a little longer for everything else (why would someone put a stocking of chicken nuggets on this poor creature she didn't know) but eventually she was finished. The deep monster suddenly brush forth, making her screech and fall back in the snow. It landed a few feet away, shaking itself.

"Ah, that's better. A weight has been lifted. Now, you wanna know more about the canine problem, runt?"

Frisk sat up, feeling her tail fluff at being called "runt", but pressed her lips together and nodded.

The deer monster sat.

"Well, first I outta tell you my name. My name is Gyftrot. Now, as you can see, I resemble what you may call a deer. Wolves eat deer. Many of the monsters, 'specially round here, have… canine qualities. And when they see me, they have a sudden craving for deer. I have no idea why. There are very few monsters that aren't affected by this. One of these monsters is Undyne. But that doesn't really matter- that irresponsible fish would skewer me just for the fun o it."

Frisk tilted her head. Undyne? She sounded important.

"You don't know why the monsters have canine traits?"

Gyftrot shook his oddly shaped head

"no. They seemed to develop over time, that's all I know. As the land got colder and colder. Maybe it's all that fur they been wearin'."

Frisk thought on this before thinking of another question.

"Are you… acquainted… with two skeletons?" She asked.

"No, but I've seen em' round. The tall one used to chase me and blab on bout puzzles and such, and the shorter one is more quiet and too himself. He'll joke with the others from time to time, but I usually see 'em bothers me, that one."

"How… so? Do you think they're dangerous?"

"The tall one? Hell no. The shorter one… I have no clue. I personally don't trust 'em. Feels far too dangerous. Can't know fer sure, though."

"o-okay…" Frisk said. _Even he doesn't know._

Gyftrot raised his head.

"I don't recommend you go trampin' round with monsters, human."

"huh?"

"We been locked down in here, in a land growing colder and colder. Many monsters may be… bitter. I certainly don't give no damn, the cold is good for me. Unfortunately, that's not the case for many. Lots of monsters have keeled over and died because of the temperatures. And even that royal scientist can't save the crops soon. The land will keep gettin' colder and colder till most o us perish. Most don't realise it yet, but some do. And they'll do anythin' to get yer soul."

Frisk blinked, eyes wide. _Keep getting colder? So…_

"are you saying that monsterkind will be wiped out soon?"

"Maybe not soon, but sometime. Unless we get another human soul. Our king is ruthless. He may seem fair and calm, but he'll do anything to save his people. He knows. He won't lose resolve like that last king did. I suggest you run back to them ruins. That's the place where you'll last longest."

Frisk took the information in, closing her eyes.

 _If they don't do something, monsterkind will perish. Without anyone ever knowing. They'll just be myths, legends… bad ones at that. But… what can I do? I can't just give up my soul… but… maybe there's another way. Something I can do? I can't just run back to the ruins… I can't.._

Frisk opened her eyes and looked up.

"I… can't do that… I promised someone… and even if I'm scared half to death I… have to do it. And besides, if I die, you'll all be free, right?"

Gyftrot snorted.

"You're one odd human, you. I'll tell you somethin'. Somethin' a very important monster once told me. There's a way. But no one has the heart to find it. I certainly didn't care then, I would not be affected and the underground wasn't as cold then. But now it is and they all have a major problem. That monster is dead now, dead by his own foolishness. But I guess sometimes you need foolishness and naïveness to get a job done, yes?"

Frisk was silent as Gyftrot turned to leave.

"It was nice to talk to a decent person who wasn't lookin' to eat my hide. But you do what you want. Because you're the only one who can."

With that, Gyftrot bounded away, kicking up snow in his wake.

Frisk stood up, wiping snow from her pants. They had gone stiff from exposure to the cold.

She began walking along the path again, musing about what Gyftrot had told her. It all was so much to take in, to think about. Her mind felt a little muggy, probably from the cold.

Frisk reached a long, dangerous looking bridge after what seemed like decades. It swung back and forth in the wind.

She noticed it was getting darker out. How it got dark and light in the underground, she didn't know. Magic?

Frisk could see out for miles, clusters of snow covered trees standing out in the dusk. A small like glittered far away. Frisk wanted to sit and look out into the vastness forever. But she acknowledged with nervousness that there was something she had to do. Her stomach was growling slightly, but she was far from hungry.

Frisk tested the bridge, bouncing one foot on it, before beginning to walk across. It seemed to be made from sturdy materials, and she could feel something pulsing through the ropes. That didn't stop her heart from soaring, but she was filled with determination.

If she could avoid a fight with someone like Gyftrot, she could defiantly avoid a fight with Papyrus.

She felt her heart skip as she noticed a tall figure standing at the end of the bridge. She stopped, body going stiff.

"Human."


	9. Chapter 8- You're Blue now!

"human." Papyrus called. His voice was lower than usual, heavy, like a cloud of an approaching storm. Frisk swallowed hard and looked straight ahead.

"…"

"Allow me to describe some complex feelings… feelings like… the admiration for another's puzzle solving skills… loneliness in a cold world… the desire to have a cool, smart person think you're cool."

Frisk was taken aback. _H-huh? Is he talking about… me?_

"These feelings… they must be what you are feeling right now! I can hardly imagine what it's like to feel that way!"

Frisk blinked. _Oh… maybe? Is he going… to not fight? Maybe I should play along…_

"S-sure…" she squeaked, but Papyrus didn't seem to hear. Guess he lacked his brothers acute hearing.

"I don't ever wonder what having lots of friends is like. I pity you… lonely human…"

Frisk tilted her head slightly to the side, her eyes gleaming.

 _Pity? No… wait, are you projecting your issues on me? Hmmm… well, as long as you don't fight me…_

"Worry not! You shall be lonely no longer! I, the Great Papyrus, will be your new…" Papyrus trailed off, his eye sockets narrowing slightly in thought. Frisk felt her heart skip a beat.

 _Uh oh…_

Papyrus looked down, his expression sad.

"No, this is all wrong. I can't be your friend… when Undyne and I can fulfill the dreams we've held for so long. I must fight you… and capture you…"

"wait!" Frisk called as he took a step forward. She felt her tail lower between her legs, amd she grabbed the side of the bridge in fear.

"I am The Great Papyrus… the newest member… of the Royal Guard!"

Papyrus's gaze moved up to her, solemn. It took her a few moments to realize what was happening. Her stomach dropped.

 _Oh no… no…_

Frisk took another faltering step back.

"Papyrus… Please… we don't need to fight! Can't you join the… royal guard… some other way?"

Papyrus looked at her with dead eyes.

"No. We are not canine. The only way we could have a chance is with a human."

 _Not… canine? We?_

As Frisk opened her mouth, Papyrus raised his gloved hand.

There was a whizz, and a bone formed from thin air. It floated for a few moments before flying towards her.

Frisk yelped and ducked, hearing the bone whir past above her.

 _NO… He's… not… if I don't fight now I won't have a chance._

Frisk's hand moved to her dagger, pulling it out of her pocket and unsheathing it in a panic. The blade shined despite the dull light. Her grip on it was so tight her knuckles turned white.

Sans's voice echoed in her mind.

" _I don't know what he'll do now. But he doesn't mean any harm."_

Frisk's grip faltered, her hand shaking.

" _hey, don't sweat it. Just do what you've been doing all this time. It's been working, right? You've got a knack for it, snap pea."_

 _Do what I've been doing all this time… not killing things? I… no, I can't… he doesn't want to hurt me… it just seems that way… like with Asgore… I have to convince him somehow..._

Frisk let her hand fall to her side. Papyrus was completely still. She hesitantly slid the the blade back into its sheath and put it back in her pocket. She still couldn't shake her fear and left the top poking put just in case.

"So, you won't fight me…" Papyrus said. Frisk nodded.

"In that case… I'll just have to use my SPECIAL ATTACK!"

Frisk's eyes widened. _S-special attack?_

Papyrus raised his hands, and there was a sudden burst of blue. It was like fog, bursting forth into the air before condensing to form glowing blue bones.

Frisk felt her legs get ready to move, but something told her to hold still… Sans had said…

Sans had told her to hold still.

But what good would that do?

As the bones came towards her, she had to make a decision fast.

Trust Sans?

She had to.

Frisk swallowed hard and steeled her nerves, squeezing her eyes shut and waiting for the pain to come.

The only thing she felt was a cold breeze.

When Frisk opened her eyes, the bones were still coming towards her. But they went _through_ her… like a ghost.

 _Sans was right… I did have to hold still._

She felt a pang of relief as the final bone when the through her.

However, Papyrus was still staring in her direction expectantly.

 _What is he-_

There was a sudden weight in her body, like gravity had grown ten times stronger. It caught her off guard and she tumbled to her knees, shaking as she stared down through the bridge and to the fall deep down.

Her head snapped up to Papyrus.

"You're blue now!"

Frisk's heart stuttered, and she felt sick.

 _What the hell?!_

A slight blue glow from her chest made her look down.

Her soul was _blue…_ a vibrant azure blue. It glowed faintly against her sweater.

Frisk glanced up again. Papyrus looked a little hesitant before he attacked.

The attack was another single bone, moving so slow and close to the bridge it was a most laughable… if she wasn't weighed down. Frisk struggled to her feet just in time to step over it.

The weight in her body made her lean over slightly. If her ears weren't flat against her head, they had to be now.

 _You could've mentioned this, Sans…_ She thought bitterly. _I'm going to die now._ Frisk realized with a rush of terror.

 _But wait… he said "capture me"… so… maybe this is how? And he's not going to kill me? But whoever he is handing me over to is... no… I can't… I have to try… to…_ her mind fogged again, her thoughts lost. _Why?_

She had no time to ponder as another bone was sent her way, a little taller than the last.

"If you jump for longer, you will go up longer! You just have to fight against gravity!" Papyrus explained, his voice lighter than before.

Frisk glanced at him angrily. _Is this a game to you?_

Frisk gulped and tried what he said, and realized he was right- _she was floating._

All too soon she plummeted to the ground, seconds after the bone passed. The shock sent a slight jolt of pain through her ankles.

 _What did he do?_

"Nyeh heh heh! Good job, human!"

"Pap-"

Frisk didn't get to speak as more bones came her way. She did as she did before, but she always landed dangerously close to the bones.

"Papyrus, stop! We don't have to fight…"

Papyrus looked hopeful.

"You'll let me capture you?"

"… where will I go once 'captured'?"

"…. To the king!"

"… sorry… no."

Papyrus sighed sadly and sent more bones towards her, these ones moving faster.

Frisk couldn't land in time to jump again between them, and she was hit by the last one. It slammed against her leg and faded, leaving her to hiss and grab her thigh.

Papyrus flinched, looking guilty.

Frisk noticed the pain felt detached… her leg was somewhat numb. Her whole body felt kind of numb, besides the faint pain and the pull of the blue soul.

Frisk returned her gaze to Papyrus, her knees shaking.

"Why do you even want to join the royal Guard?" She asked with a little more of a push. The pain had eaten away a slight bit of her fear.

"I… I want to be known! Great! I want to have admirers and… Friends… no one here has time for friends…"

Frisk remembered Gyftrot with a rush of pitty. How many other monsters were as prickly as him? How many monsters ignored the lonely Papyrus in favor of getting done what they had to so they could return to their warm homes?

 _He really was projecting onto me before…_

 _He's lonely._

Frisk had to jump over a few more bones, these ones at the same pace. As she was going up her mind blanked again, making her fall mid-jump.

Luckily, she landed after the bone passed and jumped over the next.

She realized she could stop mid-jump, instead of going all the way up.

 _Dammit, I'm an idiot. No wonder I was having issues…_

The weight wasn't as daunting, but her absent mindedness was. It was like her head was wrapped in fog and could disappear at any second. Combined with this was the stiffness and numbness of her limbs.

 _Somethings wrong… and I need to get him to stop before..._

If it came down to him or her, what would she do then?

Frisk jumped a few more bones, focusing hard.

"I will no longer have to worry about friends! They will all look up to me! Sans would… well, be Sans, I guess." Papyrus said loudly.

Frisk shook herself. She just noticed her teeth were chattering.

"You… Sans is your friend, right? He's your friend as much as he's your brother… and the person you mentioned before… they're your friend too, right?" She tried her hardest to hide her growing urgency.

Papyrus looked at her curiously, scratching his arm. His cape billowed in the wind. The bridge tilted slightly.

"y-yes, human… they are…" He answered slowly.

"So you have friends. Isn't it better to have a few close, real friends that a bunch of acquaintances?" Frisk asked, somewhat out of experience. She herself would much rather have no friends as apposed to fake friends… as much as it hurt.

Papyrus was quiet for a few moments, a trait that didn't fit with the normally flamboyant skeleton.

"I… don't know…"

The bag on Frisk's shoulder dropped, but she didn't notice. She could only focus on Papyrus.

"And… we could be… friends?"

 _If you don't capture me, that is…_ Frisk added silently.

Papyrus looked torn now.

"I… you'd… you'd be my friend?" Papyrus's voice was small, almost unrecognizable.

The wind picked up, throwing Frisk's torn scarf into her face. She didn't really care.

"y-yeah… sure, bud." She gave him a small genuine smile. She felt a real warmth in her chest, a feeling that wasn't just a burning desire to live.

 _That would be nice._

Papyrus made no sound, no movement. The only sound was the wind howling.

Frisk thought the world had froze over for a few seconds.

Then, out of nowhere, Papyrus perked up.

"NYEH HEH HEH! I accept your offer, human! I see you are shaking in your shoes! Therefore, I will allow you to be the friend of the Great Papyrus!"

Frisk jumped slightly at the sudden shouting.

It was now, while not in the heat of everything, she noticed the sky was darker. The snow glittered and looked to be almost glowing in the dark.

Frisk took a deep breath of relief.

 _Oh thank the stars… that was about to go bad._

Her body was lighter now, like she was floating. The change was odd, and she almost lost balance. At the same time the muscles in her back were sore and strained from keeping her body up against the gravity, and it hurt to straighten out.

"thank..." She paused, forgetting what she was saying for a quick moment. "you."

Papyrus smiled. "You're welcome, human! Now-"

Papyrus was cut off by an extremely strong gust of wind. It made the bridge shake.

Frisk cried out as it caught her off guard and sent her slamming against the side, which consisted of only a rope. She grabbed onto it for dear life as her leg was thrown over the side.

Her heart was beating so hard it hurt.

 _Oh my god..._

Frisk was trembling so hard she couldn't move even if she tried.

"Human! Are you okay?" Papyrus made his way towards her, seemingly unaffected by the wind or the shaking bridge.

Frisk looked up at him, unsure of what to do. What was she doing, again?

Papyrus looked down at her in mild confusion before reaching out and pulling her away from the edge of the bridge. His hands were burning hot against the cold, despite the gloves.

Frisk flinched, not liking the contact, but said nothing. Why didn't she move herself?

Papyrus looked down at her, blinking.

"You are very cold, human."

 _Ya think?_ Frisk muttered in her head.

Papyrus bent down in front of her.

"That's not healthy for humans, I don't think."

 _Duh._

"I wonder if humans can get Hypothermia too? Can they?"

 _Monsters get Hypothermia?_ Frisk thought as she nodded. Something clicked into place.

Papyrus looked slightly worried.

"That's not good, human! That means you are in danger!"

 _I am? Wasn't I just in danger because of you?_ Frisk looked at him silently.

 _Though… wait, maybe that's why I'm zoning out… uh oh._

"Brother says that monsters who get Hypothermia need to be warmed up! I know what to do!"

 _Huh?_

"I can take you to the warmest place in Snowdin!"

She couldn't think of warmth right now. It was like she forgot what it felt like.

"MY HOUSE!"

Papyrus jumped up excitedly.

Frisk's eyes followed him.

 _House? Oh…_

Frisk… didn't really what to go into the house of the person who was just attacking her… but she knew he wouldn't attack her anymore. And she _did_ need to find warmth.

Soon.

Papyrus started skipping away, motioning her to follow.

"Come with me!"

He waited as Frisk struggled to her feet. He seemed to think she would be enthusiastic as well.

She followed the tall skeleton hesitantly.

The skeleton moved at a brisk pace, and she almost had to jog to keep up. Which was hard with frozen legs.

They passed a large, half snow engulfed sign with worn letters that read "welcome to snowdin!"

Past that was possibly the most comforting little town she ever laid eyes on.

There were multiple little houses made of light brown wood, their windows golden with light. A larger building was up ahead, casting smoke into the dark sky. In the middle of the town was a tall Christmas tree, covered in a rainbow of pretty lights.

The lights from the houses cast a golden hue onto the glittering snow, and it really was beautiful. Much better than all the smoggy cities back on the surface.

Frisk felt a tiny smile form on her cold lips.

 _So this is Snowdin…_

Papyrus kept walking, and Frisk trailed behind. She emptily wondered how it could be night.

They arrived at a large house on the edge of the town. It was covered in Christmas lights, and little dog decorations attached around the windows. Two worn black mailboxes stood in front of the house ( one bulging with mail) and a tiny sat next to the house.

Papyrus dashed up to the porch and waited for her to follow.

Frisk walked up the steps, gazing up at the house.

It seemed so homely…

Maybe this was okay after all.


	10. Chapter 9- Meatballs!

**Caramello's are love, Caramello's are life. I have a Caramel addiction (I also have a cough drop addiction. I'm on druuuuuuugs XD coffee is a drug too, and I think I'm beyond addicted to that… I need halp) and I just ate a whole big Caramello in one sitting.  
**

 **Remember HT has a Tumblr with lots Of cool stuff! Including updates xb**

* * *

Frisk looked up at the large house with her arms wrapped around herself. The house was covered in Christmas lights that sent soft shadows down the wood and lit up the snow around it.

Papyrus looked back at her expectantly, his eyes full of enthusiasm.

Frisk walked up the steps slugishly, her legs not wanting to bend. Her mind was still foggy, like it was stuffed with cotton balls.

She returned Papyrus's gaze nervously. She felt awkward going into someone else's house…

Papyrus didn't get the clue and slammed the door wide open, jumping into the house. Snow was scattered across the carpet from his boots.

Frisk was bombarded by a strong warmth from inside the house. It was burning hot compared to the cold outside. She stood on the porch frozen for a few moments like a deer in headlights.

Papyrus turned to her.

"Come on in, human! It's okay! You're letting the warm out!"

With that Frisk rushed inside and closed the door, feeling bad she wasted valuable heat. She self consciously wiped her shoes on the bone mat placed in front of the door for what seemed like that purpose. She distantly noted she had accumulated a lot of snow in her time out.

Papyrus took his cape off roughly and hung it on the back of the door, causing Frisk to shuffle away. Her skin had started burning from warming up after such a long time in the cold. However, she couldn't stop shaking for the life of her.

She looked around slowly.

The house was rather normal looking. The carpet was a pleasant shade of purple, and the walls were a smooth orange. There was a light green sofa off against one wall, and a flat screen tv on the opposite wall. A table sat on the wall next to the door, a single plate with a rock on it. The rock was covered in sprinkles and... fur?

Frisk was startled by the thump of Papyrus's boots as he dashed up the stairs, shouting something. Frisk was left to stand shyly in the living room.

Frisk adjusted her bag. Her shoulder had started to ache, as well as her legs. She had been up and about all day…

That couch sure did look nice.

At the same time a part of her wished she was back in the numbness of the cold. Her whole body was burning. She knew what it felt like to warm up her hands on a winter day and feel them burn, but this was ten times worse. Not to mention her clothes were damp from the snow.

There was another thump from upstairs, and more shouting. Then a rumbly voice she recognized as Sans.

She couldn't hear his words, but for some reason she got the feeling he was annoyed.

Papyrus returned a few seconds later, Sans stumbling behind him. He had taken off his coat and was wearing a white t-shirt with a logo of a wolf on it.

Papyrus turned to glare at Sans, waiting for something.

Sans blinked groggily and looked from his brother to her.

"… hey, snap pea." His voice was flat, making her feel more awkward than ever.

"Sans! The human may have hypothermia! Do something!" Papyrus yelled, stomping his foot.

"…that wouldn't be too _cool, would it?_ Heh."

"SANS!"

"Okay, okay, don't give me the _cold_ shoulder now." The skeleton grinned and approached Frisk. It took Frisk a few moments to realize the sin that had just been committed.

Papyrus grunted in frustration and threw his body on the couch forcefully, making the springs squeak. He then shoved his head into the cushions and screamed.

Sans watched in amusement before turning to her.

"Ya should've seen this coming, puppo."

"…"

"Why didn't you bring a coat or something." Sans asked.

"D-don't have one…" _What am I, a walking coat Rack?_

Sans blinked slowly.

"Okay, weird. But okay. Paps, in the closet upstairs there should be blankets on the top shelf. Go get 'em."

Papyrus leaped off the couch and said something not even the greatest speech therapist could make out and ran up the stairs.

Frisk watched with wide eyes.

"… you know, you don't have t-"

Sans raised his finger dangerously close to her face in a shushing motion with an all too cheeky grin.

"Shaddup. Would you rather be out there freezing to death? Paps wouldn't be happy and I'd have to fill out paperwork."

Frisk raised an eyebrow.

"Paperwork?"

"Paperwork."

"But you-"

"Paper. Work."

Frisk pushed his finger away.

"You'd have to fill out paper work if I died _inside_ your house, or maybe on your porch."

"Naw, if you died in Snowdin forest while I was on sentry duty I'd have to fill out paperwork. If you died in here I don't think anyone would care. Except Paps. Dead bodies aren't sanitary."

Frisk stared at the skeleton, eyes narrowed.

"…yeah… sanitary… that sure makes me feel better being here." She said dryly. She couldn't help but be slightly amused- albeit still kinda scared.

Sans winked at her.

"Glad that's so." He chuckled.

"HUMAN! I HAVE BROUGHT THE BLANKETS?"

As Frisk turned to face Papyrus she was hit by the worlds biggest stash of blankets. There was so many she ended up falling onto the floor and getting tangled in the giant ball.

"Is that enough?" Papyrus asked from above. Frisk was shocked silent.

 _Who in their right mind would need this many freaking blankets!?_

"… you didn't have to get every single blanket we owned, bro."

"That isn't every single blanket. I have more in my room, and we have yours too."

"No thank you!" Frisk said hastily from under the mass of blankets. She was scared her voice was too muffled to hear. Finally, she stuck her head out from under the mass, breathing in sweet air. _Oh dear god…_

Sans snorted in amusement, while Papyrus threw him a confused glance.

"While you get comfy, human, I shall make you the famous meatballs of the Great Chef Papyrus!"

Papyrus ran towards what could be assumed to be the kitchen.

"… he's got a hella lot of energy…" Frisk muttered.

"Well, that's my bro for you. See what I meant? He doesn't mean no harm."

Frisk looked up at Sans, and caught a relieved look on his face.

 _Was he scared I'd hurt him?_

Sans stretched his arms and then walked over to the couch, plopping himself onto it.

Frisk didn't move from her spot on the floor.

Sans stared at her through half lidded eyes, seemingly contemplating something, before patting the spot on the couch beside him.

Frisk edged under the blanket.

"A-are you… I could… "

Sans sighed.

"Do I have to go get a doggie treat? Or maybe the rolled up newspaper. Get over here."

Frisk glared at him before grabbing the wad of blankets and walking over, sitting down. She felt ten times more awkward now, and messed with the collar of her sweater. She eventually pulled the blankets up around her and positioned them into something that resembled a nest.

Sans was completely quiet, staring at the blank tv. Frisk didn't say anything. She silently put her bag on the floor under the armrest.

She was now pretty warm- and drowsy- when Papyrus came dashing in from the kitchen, holding a tray. A strong, burnt smell assaulted her nose.

Sans lazily looked at his brother as Frisk flinched.

 _Those don't smell too… nice… Also, don't you make spaghetti with meatballs or something?_

Papyrus shoved the tray into their faces, and Frisk felt heat radiating from it, telling her it was fresh from the oven. Misshapen, sad little things that at least somewhat resembled meatballs sat on the foil.

Frisk pulled her head further under the blankets.

"Human, brother, try them! They may be my best batch yet!"

The tray was then shoved further into their faces.

Sans muttered a tired "sure bro" and reached up, grabbing the one closest to him. He then promptly ate it. Frisk couldn't help wondering again how they could eat.

"Well, brother?"

Sans hesitated. _Oh no…_

"Real good, Papy."

They both turned and gazed at Frisk, waiting.

Frisk swallowed hard.

 _I'd be rude not to… and I am hungry… so…_

Frisk shakily freed a hand from her blankets and reached forward, grabbing the smallest one she could. It was burning hot, but she put the little meat ball in her mouth anyways.

…indescribable…

Frisk fought the urge to spit it back up and swallowed the…thing… giving Papyrus a thumbs up so she didn't gag.

The joy on his face nearly made up for it.

"Wowie, really? You like it? Here, have them all!" Papyrus put the tray closer.

Frisk shook her head.

"I-I'm sorry… I-I'm not too h-hungry right now… maybe tomorrow?"

Papyrus blinked.

"Sure, human! You must be tired. You are spending the night, right?"

Frisk stiffened a little.

 _A-am I?_

One glance at Papyrus's hope filled face made her mind up for her.

"S-sure, if… that's… okay…" she shrugged.

The tall skeleton leaped into the air.

"OF COURSE, HUMAN!"

Papyrus did a little dance before looking down at Sans.

Sans looked back up at him with one eye, the other closed.

"Sans? … can I go to bed now?"

"Why are ya asking me?"

"…bedtime story?"

"Oh."

Frisk tilted her head.

 _Bedtime…story…? Sans really does baby you…_

A quick look from Sans told her to hold her tongue.

The older brother peeled himself from the couch, yawning.

"Alright, I'm coming. You." He pointed at her. "The bathrooms upstairs. The room before the room with the keep out sign. If ya need anything, we'll be in the first room up the stairs. If you need a drink or something help yourself, the kitchen is over there."

Papyrus had left to put his tray of meatballs in the kitchen and now was running up the stairs.

She wondered how the poor stairs took so much abuse.

Sans followed slowly, his steps making no noise in comparison.

Frisk watched him go.

"T-thanks…" she said, a little too late, she thought.

To her surprise Sans turned and winked at her before disappearing up the steps.

 _He really does have the hearing of a wolf…_

After a few minutes of sitting around Frisk decided she should probably go to the bathroom. She rummaged through her bag to find the toothbrush and toothpaste Asgore gave her before wandering nervously up the stairs, shutting the light off on her way.

After she did so she returned to the couch, nuzzling back under the blankets. She pulled her scarf off and put it in her bag, reaching in to pull out the water bottle and bag of jerky she took with her.

The bottle was half frozen, and the jerky was cold and hard. At least it was something, though. She still had the can of stew, but that required getting up and cooking it. And she didn't want to do that in the skeletons house.

It was odd, she mused, that she was now sleeping in the house of the people who scared the everliving crap out of her a few hours ago. It was playing itself in a similar manner to Asgore and the ruins, except they acted more like friends than a fatherly figure.

She was pretty comfortable with Papyrus, even though they had just fought. He was sweet and, all though not the brightest, a very kind person.

Sans seemed nice too, but something about him unsettled her and she felt that feeling would never go away.

She had to admit she was growing increasingly fond of the two of them.

Frisk sat up, looking out the window. The snow outside was almost breathtaking, golden hues glowing across the glittering white. It was so homely, and she wished someplace like this could be on the surface.

Frisk laid back down, her mind swimming despite her weariness.

Frisk stared at the ceiling, feeling her breathing even out.

Just as she was closing her eyes she felt a presence in the room, and heard the faintest shuffle of fabric.

Frisk felt herself tense up, her eyes slowly turning towards the stairs.

Sans was walking down, the faint light reflecting off of his skull.

He walked down the stairs silently and went into the kitchen. Frisk had to admire his ability to walk completely silent and fluidly, like he really was part wolf.

Could she do that too?

 _Maybe… being a… werewolf of sorts is a little good. Maybe…_

She knew how she would be looked at by other humans once she returned.

But did that matter when down here she was viewed as just fine… once they got past the fact of her being human.

Frisk smiled softly, feeling a warm happiness. The world above was just to big for her to belong, to fit and lead an life people cared about.

Down here was too small to not care about anyone, no matter who they were.

Or maybe it was a trait of monsters to care? Hell if she knew.

Frisk forcefully shut her eyes as Sans returned. She tried to listen to him, but he was like a ghost. He didn't exist unless she could see him…

Until she felt the couch seat move.

Frisk cracked her eye open and found the skeleton sitting against the couch, on the floor. He had a greasy bag clutched in one hand and a remote in the other.

He clicked the TV on, and Frisk had to shut her eyes from the sudden blue light.

Everything was silent for a few moments until she heard the rustle of the bag, and she assumed Sans was digging into his dinner.

She assumed wrong.

She knew this when something that smelled like heaven was shoved in her face.

"I'm assuming you're hungry, snap pea."

Frisk's eyes snapped open in surprise.

Sans's grin grew wider.

"Sorry but I know you're not sleeping. I may be empty headed, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid." Sans knocked his skull, making Frisk groan.

"… hrrr, what gave me away?"

Frisk sat up stretching her legs.

" breathing."

"Oh."

Sans raised a brow.

"You gonna take this or what?"

Frisk looked down at the burger.

"…sure? No onions, right?"

"Nope. I don't eat that shit."

Frisk glared at him.

"Language."

"Number one, it's my house. I can be as foul mouthed as I want. Two, I'm too lazy to censor myself. Three, it's true."

Frisk sighed and nodded, taking the food.

"Just cause it's true doesn't mean you have to say it. If you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all." She said sarcastically.

Sans chuckled.

"Yeah, onions have feelings. Sure. I don't care, they're little shits."

Frisk's ear twitched.

"Wow, you sure do feel strongly about onions. Thanks for the food, though…"She said, unwrapping the burger.

"Yeah." Sans replied, going back into the bag. He pulled out another burger and a large carton of fries.

"Help yourself. You get kudos after before." Sans held the fries up.

"Huh?"

"What you did for my brother. Not only did ya spare him, you downed one of his meatballs."

Frisk huffed.

"Oh yeah… I honestly don't know which is worse…"

"It's better than what he used to make before. It's somewhat edible. Maybe he'll make something you can call food in a year. But you gotta admit, he tries real hard."

Frisk was still for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, I guess. Maybe a little too hard." She said before taking a bite out of her burger. It was a little cool, but it had a good burst of flavor. It tasted more like a homemade burger than anything.

Something flashed in Sans's eyes.

"Better too hard than not hard enough."

Frisk blinked.

"I guess. Hey, where did you get this, anyways?" Frisk asked, pointing at the burger.

Sans turned back to the TV.

"Grillby's. I'll take you there tomorrow if you want. It's real nice, lots of good folk there."

Frisk looked away.

"I… guess…"

She had planned on keeping on her journey… but maybe spending some time here wouldn't be so bad.

She actually looked forward to it.

"Welp, anyways, what are you in the mood to watch?" Sans asked.

"I dunno." Frisk answered.

Sans pressed a button, and a channel display came up.

"Well, there's some stupid gossip show called office girls, Chucky, monster shat, or 22 wedding dresses."

"Not chucky." Frisk said hastily.

Sans turned to her, amused.

"What, you scared of a little doll or something?"

"Shut up."

Sans snorted.

Frisk huffed, taking a few fries.

"Welp, 22 wedding dresses it is."

Frisk squinted, looking closer at the screen.

"Is that on all week?"

"That's the only thing that channel plays."

"… weird."

Sans hummed in agreement and pressed another button, turning the movie on.

"By the way, you can stay here as long as you need too. Paps gets real lonely sometimes, I'm sure he'd appreciate it."

With that, he went quiet.

The movie was surprisingly interesting, but Frisk felt herself drowsing off regardless. Near the end she could hear Sans snoring on the floor.

She vaguely wondered why he wasn't in his own room sleeping, but remembered he probably fell asleep during the movie.

As the credits rolled, the TV shut itself off, leaving the room in darkness. The blank screen made her uneasy.

Frisk closed her eyes and let the soft sounds of Sans's snoring lull her into unconsciousness.

…

Frisk was unceremoniously woken up by yelling.

"YOU LAZY BONES, WAKE UP!"

This was followed by groaning.

Frisk groggily realized Sans wasn't on the floor anymore. He must have moved while she was asleep.

"SANS!"

Frisk sat up, yawning. She wanted to go back to sleep herself.

"WAKE UP!"

"I'm up, I'm up…" Sans replied from upstairs.

Papyrus came stomping down, his cape and scarf trailing after him.

"Human, you are up! I hope you had a good nights sleep! I must attend to my puzzles, please watch my brother for me."

Before Frisk could reply, the flamboyant skeleton was already out the door.

Frisk stared in his direction.

"…huh."

Sans came down the stairs, looking half asleep.

"Uuuuuuuuugggghhh…"

"… good… morning…"

"Bad mornings…" Sans grumbled back.

Frisk watched as the skeleton made his way to the kitchen, his feet dragging in the ground. He was wearing only one sock.

 _Someone's not a morning person._ Frisk observed.

Sans returned with a coffee pot full of dark black coffee. He sat on the couch next to her and began drinking the coffee black, straight from the coffee pot.

Frisk stared at the skeleton like he had grown pink wings.

The lights in his eye sockets slowly moved to her.

"…what?"

"…you're… never mind."

Frisk shook her head and stood up, shoving the blankets off her and moving up the stairs to the bathroom.

When she returned, Sans had finished the coffee and had put his jacket back on, as well as his slippers.

"I'm goin' to Grillby's, wanna come?" He asked, a lazy grin back on his face.

"Sure… hold on." Frisk was a little peeved he was going so soon, but she had said she'd go last night. So she decided all she could do was go over to her bag and grab her scarf, and fix the blankets on the couch to make them somewhat presentable.

Sans had opened the door, letting cold air in.

Frisk glared it him, pulling her purple scarf around her neck.

"You're letting cold air in."

"So? Paps not here."

"Nnnngggh." She didn't want to deal with the cold again.

Sans walked out the door, and Frisk followed wordlessly.

The town wasn't as pretty as it was at night, but it still held that homely quality to it. There were a few monsters scattered about, all warm and friendly looking. A few of them waved at Sans, and he grinned back at them.

 _I guess everyone knows everyone in such a small town._

However, she noticed after while Sans's wolfish grin felt tight, and a few older monsters have him frightened or even unfriendly looks. Sans seemed to ignore them but she felt a tense atmosphere develop.

Frisk caught sight of Snowdrake, who was talking to two little monsters with icicles sticking from their heads. She resisted the urge to say hi (and save the two little monsters from pun-ishment) and kept on following Sans.

The snow was extra crisp, crunching loudly under her feet. It was a little hard to walk in, but Sans seemed to have no issue at all.

She'd get used to it.

They stopped in front of a little building that said "Lifary" on the front.

"This is the library. The sign is misspelled."

Frisk stared at it.

"How'd they manage that?"

"Beyond me."

Sans kept on walking through the town. They eventually came to what Frisk assumed to by Grillby's, the biggest building in town.

Sans opened the door, hitting the bell in the top of the door. The sound was soft and pleasant.

Frisk stopped quick to kick snow off of her shoes before entering.

The restaurant was very warm and welcoming on the inside. The wooden floor was well polished, and the walls lit by little lanterns placed at intervals along its length. There were various tables around, and a front bar counter with stools. Various fake fur skins were hung on the walls, and the cloth on the front counter seemed to be made out of the same stuff. There were a handful of monsters about, and Frisk recognized the Greater dog sitting at the largest table.

Behind the counter was a flame monster cleaning a glass, and behind him were a various assortment of bottles.

When Sans had said nice, she didn't think of this. Despite that, she liked it. It felt… homely, just like the rest of the town.

Sans lead her to the stools in the front, and they passed Lesser dog. Frisk felt a twinge of fear seeing the dog again, but it looked completely absorbed in the game of chess it seemed to be playing against itself. It was growling softly.

Near the Lesser dog was a tall creature in a black cloak that covered its face and body. It seemed to be smoking something that smelled very odd.

Frisk shook herself and climbed onto the stool next to Sans. The stools were rather large in size, probably to accommodate for the larger monsters.

"Alright, were here. Whatcha think?" Sans asked, resting his head on the counter.

Frisk looked around again, feeling a few eyes turn to her.

"Ummm….it's… nice, I guess…"

Sans blinked slowly.

"Cool. So, whadya want?"

Frisk jumped a little.

"Huh? Oh, um… I don't want to… bother…"

"Okay, remember our little discussion about dead bodies being unsanitary? You need food to live. Whaddya want?"

Frisk shrunk in on herself. She didn't know how, but The flame monster seemed amused.

"I guess… fries?"

"That sounds cool. I guess I'll get that too. Hey, Grillby, we'll have a double order of fries." Sans said to the fire monster.

The fire monster- Grillby- nodded before going into a room in the back.

Sans pulled his head off the table, scratching his head.

"So, while we're waiting for the grub, I wanted to ask ya something. I forgot to ask you yesterday."

"Hmmm?" Frisk hummed absentmindedly, not looking at him.

Suddenly, the air around her seemed colder, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Frisk's head snapped up, turning to Sans.

His eyes were pitch black.

"I've gotta ask… do you know anything about a _talking flower?_ "


	11. Chapter 10- Bookworm

Frisk's heart flopped and the blood drained from her face.

Her ears flattened against her head upon seeing the pitch black eye sockets. It felt like they were pulling her soul from her body and into their dark depths.

"I-I… y-yeah…" Frisk stuttered.

A crystal clear image of powder blue petals and a haunting grin pushed its way into her mind.

Sans blinked. The lights in his eyes returned, and it was as if his serious expression before was nothing but a transformation.

It still didn't shake the deep feeling of dread that had pushed its way into the core of her being.

"Ah, so you know all about it… the echo flower. They grow even in these cold conditions. They're really special in that regard. And, as you _should_ know," his eye lights flickered. " they repeat anything said to them, over and over. Now, somethin' interesting has been happening to Paps recently. He says he has meet a talking flower. This flower gives him flattery… advice… _predictions…_ someone must be using an echo flower to play a prank."

The hairs on the back of Frisk's neck stood on end as her heart throbbed.

 _Papyrus talks to Flowey? If that's true… that's bad… but…_

Sans sighed and stretched, his eyes moving from her to something behind her.

"Cool, the grubs here." Sans stated.

Frisk turned her body to face Grillby. He placed two containers of perfectly cooked fries in front of them before walking back to the cup he was cleaning before hand.

Frisk wasn't hungry anymore.

Sans took the longest one from his container and placed half of it in his mouth, the other half sticking out.

"Hey, sorry if I looked pretty _fri_ -ky before. Didn't mean to scare ya."

Frisk forced herself to stiffly shrug and then halfheartedly eat on of her fries. They were nice and warm, with little salt. They had a small new taste that fries from aboveground didn't have, but it wasn't bad.

She ignored his pun.

Sans's gaze lingered on her for a moment longer.

"Heh, you get scared by everything. There a reason for that?"

Frisk shook her head.

"Not… really. I've always been a jumpy and introverted person… and being here doesn't exactly help… no offense!" Frisk added the last part hastily.

Luckily, Sans didn't seem to care.

Sans turned to his food. He grabbed a glass ketchup bottle to his right.

"No offense taken. I'm sure a monster would be pretty jumpy up on the surface for the first time too. I'd probably be, heh."

Frisk nodded softly. _Chances are, a monster wouldn't make it five minutes before someone shoots it…_

The thought made Frisk feel guilty.

 _Monsters are so much more accepting… maybe Because of how different they all are. None of them fit into a single puzzle, but they've made their own puzzle to fit into._

Frisk looked over again, thinking about adding a little ketchup to her fries.

Sans was _drinking_ out of the bottle like it was a normal beverage to be had while dining.

"…Sans?"

Sans looked over at her and lowered the bottle, wiping his mouth.

"Yeah?"

Frisk glared at him.

"…no"

Sans raised a brow-bone.

"No?"

"No. That's just… no."

Sans gave her a taunting look and raised the bottle to his mouth again.

"Come at me."

"Sa-"

Sans continued his leisurely drinking.

Frisk scooted a few inches away.

"People. Use. That. Why? Not only is that unsanitary, but it's just nasty!"

Sans placed the empty bottle down on the counter.

"Naw, you think it's nasty. I don't. And what are you gonna do about it anyways?"

Frisk looked down at her fries angrily.

 _What am I gonna do about it? I'm gonna… er…_

"…"

"Huh? Is that silence I hear?" Sans taunted.

Frisk got a light bulb.

"I could…" she grinned.

"Give Papyrus the TALK"

Sans reeled back dramatically.

"Wha? How'd you…"

"Come one, the guy practically screams sheltered."

Sans pointed his finger at her.

"Don't you dare corrupt my baby brother." Sans huffed.

"Shouldn't have taunted me then." Frisk said and smugly raised a French fry to her mouth.

Sans threw one of his fries at her, and she _tried_ to catch it in her mouth.

It ended up bouncing off her nose and onto the floor.

"… awww… I missed." Frisk stared down at the poor stick of potato.

She could hear "hello darkness my old friend" in her ears.

Sans started laughing loudly.

"Oh dear lord you looked like a dog missing a treat! That was good."

Frisk's cheeks burned.

 _Last time I try to act cool_

"Awmygawd do it again." Sans huffed, picking up a French fri.

"Come one, noooo…" Frisk replied.

"Pweeeaaaassse? Try to catch it!"

"…fine. If you do it."

"We'll take turns."

Sans threw the prize, and this time Frisk caught it.

"Take that." She leaned back and rested her elbow on the counter in a pose.

"Your turn."

Frisk picked up one of her fries.

She tossed it towards Sans, but when he tried to catch it it went through his nose-hole.

Frisk grabbed her gut and started laughing so hard she cried.

"It-it went….oh my god."

Sans hit his head on the table and started hysterically laughing. He also sneezed… somehow.

Grillby walked over to them and leaned in, making Frisk a little nervous she would catch one of them on fire. His voice was soft and crackled like a fireplace.

"Ssanss… I know you're having fun with your new girlfriend… but pleasse sstop throwing friess like a cchild."

Frisk raised an eyebrow while Sans glared at Grillby with an unamused expression.

"Don't think it works like that, pal."

Grillby waved a hand at Sans and walked away.

Frisk looked down.

 _I don't think that works at all… I… hope? That'd be creepy…_

Frisk shivered thinking about it.

Sans picked up an apparently empty container of fries.

"Welp, I'm done. Hey, why don't you explore the town while I go do my job? Ya know where the house is, right?"

Frisk looked over at him.

"…yeah… I guess."

"Good. Oh, and I'm flat broke right now. Care to foot the bill?"

Frisk felt her ears and tail fluff up.

"…"

Sans chuckled.

"Don't give me that look, I'm just kiddin. Joking. Hey Grill, put it on my tab."

With that Sans dumped his container in the trash and left, the bell chiming softly after him.

Frisk's eyes lingered on the door.

She still couldn't get a hold on how she felt about him.

Frisk turned back, staring at the bottles lined up neatly across the counter. The dim lights reflected off their shiny, spotless surfaces.

At moments he scared the everliving crap out of her, and then two minutes later was making her laugh her heart out.

Frisk scratched the back of her ear.

 _Before… he knows who Flowey is. That echo flower stuff… he knows… and he wasn't happy. But is he unhappy with me or the flower?_

Frisk mindlessly lifted the last of her fries to her mouth.

 _He still has that aura around him that I don't like. But it's probably the… wolf thing. I forgot to ask about that… crap._

Frisk mentally hit herself before getting up and throwing away her trash.

The wind had picked up outside, and it blew clusters of snow into the air.

Frisk stepped out into the cold, wrapping her arms around herself.

She heard a soft click behind her, like nails on a floor. She stiffened, her ears becoming like posts.

"You cold?"

The voice was rough and deep, with a growl to it that turned her blood to ice. Frisk turned slowly.

Standing in the doorway was the cloaked figure from inside. Something seemed to be glowing from within his hood and giving off smoke, like a cigarette…

Except it smelled like horribly made biscuits.

It's arms were crossed, but covered in black cloth.

Frisk took a few steps back in the snow, her mind racing. Her instincts screamed at her.

"…um…n-n-no… I'm f-fine…"

Frisk swallowed hard.

The creature laughed deeply and raised its head slightly.

Frisk caught a glimpse of an eye the color of ice, the pupil a thin streak of coal.

"Humans don't do well 'round here. Better watch yourself."

Frisk swallowed hard and tried not to let her throat make the growl it was trying to make.

"W-who are you?" She asked.

The creature looked down and started to walk away. It's footsteps were well placed and swift, its loping stride full of experience.

"Out here, I'm just some guy. I'm sure we'll meet again. But I'll be somebody else entirely."

With that he left, moving fast across the snow.

Frisk stayed still, watching to make sure he left.

 _Who the hell… I… don't like him…_

Frisk shook herself and decided to walk around.

She walked towards the Christmas tree in the center of the town. It was covered in snow, but still tall and prideful.

There was a large monster kneeling beside it, as well as a skinny blue monster child with spikes and apparently no arms standing to one side. His eyes were daggers glaring at any soul who happened to pass by.

Further on Frisk stopped by the Library. The building was small and looked unkept, like it was hardly used. There was a bright yellow sign in the window.

Frisk walked up to it, putting her fingertips on the cold glass as she read.

 _Help wanted, part time._

Frisk stared at the sign for a few more heartbeats, her breath fogging the glass.

 _Ya know… I cooouuulllddd… hmmm…_

Frisk found her heart beating nervously.

 _Am I? … I think I have too… if I ever want to keep going, I need to make some cash. And it would be nice helping out here. They look like they need it._

Frisk took a couple more nervous breaths before walking inside.

The library was void of any life, besides a female monster sitting at one of the tables with a large notebook and a purple lizard monster with long fangs at the front desk.

She could feel his eyes on her as she walked in.

"Yes, I know library is misspelled." He said as soon as she reached the desk.

Frisk put her hands up.

"Oh, n-no, that's not why I'm here… I just… saw t-the sign outside."

Frisk froze up and cursed at her internal introvert.

The librarian lit up.

"Oh, really? You would really want to help us organize and clean the place? We can't give you much but we really would appreciate the help."

Frisk felt a rush of sympathy.

 _I do need some… gold... whatever the currency is, but… this place does need help…_

"You… don't have too… pay, you know… I could just… volunteer?"

The librarian shook his head.

"No, we couldn't. If it were just organizing the books, maybe. But we need someone to do a list of stuff, like help fix the misspelled sign out there to cleaning up. No one wants to leave their warm houses and do that. Speaking of which… shouldn't you wear a coat? You don't look like a cold-resistant monster… you don't even look like a monster, now that I think about it."

Frisk's tail fluffed up in alarm.

"I'm fine, I don't… need a coat."

 _Yes I do._

The librarian looked at her for a few more moments before moving on.

"Alrighty. Are you sure you'd like to take the position? You can leave it at any time you want, we get that everyone has lives to lead."

Frisk paused for a moment.

"Umm… yeah, I'll take it. I have a… while, I guess… so I could do it."

The lizards face it up.

"Really? That's great! Hold on, I'll show you around."

The lizard monster jumped up from his desk, looking as if an angle had graced him from up high.

Aside from finding it hilarious, Frisk felt a warmth gathering in her chest.

Maybe she could stay for awhile.

…

Frisk had done everything the Lizard asked her to do for the day, and then decided to put part two of her plan in action.

Here she could read up about the monsters and their history.

Frisk had sat down with a large book that looked like a school students worst nightmare. However, it was more like a dream to her… history, lore, and more. (lol that rhymes)

She eventually asked if she could check it out, and the librarian was more than happy to let her take it out for a bit.

Frisk felt awkward lugging the thing back to the skeletons house.

Upon reaching her destination, Frisk happily made her blanket nest on the couch and started reading.

She had made it through a section on Boss Monsters when Papyrus came bursting through the door.

He looked slightly unnerved, which was out of character.

Frisk looked up, feeling a little self conscious but also concerned.

"Hello Papyrus… is something… wrong?"

Papyrus jumped slightly, and adjusted his scarf.

"Oh, human! Of course not! I just had a talk with my friend Undyne, is all! Nothing the Great Papyrus can't handle!"

Frisk tilted her head.

 _That name again…_

Papyrus's face brightened up some more.

"So, I've heard you started helping at the library! Is that true?"

Frisk looked down and nodded, trying not to point out the giant book in her face.

"Wowie, that's mighty neat! That means you are going to be staying awhile! And that means I'll have one more person to eat my gourmet meatballs, Nyeh heh heh! By the way, I didn't know you liked books, human."

Frisk made herself even smaller. Whether it was the mention of meatballs or the book she was unsure.

"My brother also used to read a lot. Mostly boring sciency books though. He would read quantum physics books, technology books, books about wolves and dogs… he doesn't seem to read anything but bad puns anymore." The last sentence was filled with disapproval.

Frisk looked up curiously, her ears pricked.

 _Wolf book? Why? Well, he does seem to like them… it doesn't fit with quantum physics though… what do Wolves and quantum physics have in common! Talk about extremes…_

Papyrus took off his boots and placed them neatly by the door, ignoring the snow melting on them.

He then looked over at her hopefully.

"Human, can you please help me develop my puzzle skills by playing some puzzles with me?"

Frisk stared at him before sighing and giving into those puppy dog eyes.

Seriously, who can say no to Papyrus?

…

Over the next few days Frisk found she was actually good at sudoku. However, she couldn't solve a word jumble for the life of her.

The librarian was beyond thrilled when she kept returning to help. She even fixed the sign outside… though came back almost at the point of hyperthermia again and made Papyrus freak out.

She was feeling much more comfortable with the Skeletons. Between the puzzles and games with Papyrus and the late night TV and daily expeditions to Grillby's with Sans she was starting to really enjoy their friendship.

She didn't have much gold yet, but she didn't care too much about it anymore.

She was even starting to meet some other monsters in town through Sans. Sans was well known and well liked among the younger monsters, so they would often approach. The older monsters would too, though usually to ask uncomfortable questions about Sans.

SHe quickly learned how reserved Sans really was. He was tightly friendly outside and to her and Papyrus, but he spent a great deal of time in his room, or sitting silently in front of the couch late at night.

He came with her to the library once, and he just sat followed her around while she did her chores dead silent. He didn't talk nor make a sound, like a ghost. He just stood and watched, and it creeped her out.

She assumed he was in a bad mood.

He had many moments like this, and sometimes he would get really tense and quickly make any excuse to get away. She felt bad When this happened, but Papyrus assured her he was always like this. Unpredictable.

When she wasn't bending to Papyrus's will, helping at the library or trying to make sense of Sans, she was reading. She wanted to know more about monsters and their culture. It wasn't like human history- where they told a repeated lie about Columbus finding America when it was actually not how it went- but fresh new information that thrilled her. Sans even joked once that she should get glasses so they couldn't tell her apart from the local librarian.

Frisk argued she wasn't a Lizard.

Frisk eventually wandered to the local store.

It was very small, run by a single bunny woman whose sister owned the inn next door.

She was very kind, though Frisk didn't like her nails. They looked so sharp they could cut through metal.

Frisk bought a pair of purple gloves, so her hands wouldn't freeze off. She had to push through her fear of shopping (the shopkeepers nails didn't help the matter) and went on her way.

The gloves were lined with soft fur inside, and she immediately fell in love.

She didn't even take them off when she sat down to read at the library. The feeling of the fabric on the paper annoyed her for no logical reason, but she refused to remove them.

She was startled when she felt a soft tap on her shoulder.

It was the Librarian.

"Frisk, there is someone outside who is requesting to see you."

Frisk blinked slowly.

 _Is it Sans? Why doesn't he come inside? Is he in one of his moods?_

Frisk hastily said thank you and walked outside.

And who she saw was anyone but the familiar, friendly skeleton.


	12. Chapter 11- The true Heroine

As Frisk walked out of the library she almost got impaled by an arrow.

She jumped back, the point grazing her chest.

Frisk felt sweat gather on her brow and her heart speed up to a million miles an hour. Her eyes slowly wandered from the tip of the drawn arrow to the hands holding the bow, to the face of her… visitor.

She was a fish-like monster, with pale blue skin and an animalistic yellow eye. Her left eye was covered by a beat up eyepatch. She wore a heavy brown coat over a blue shirt with a sun in the middle. Her mouth was bared in a snarl, showing off sharp fangs.

She had red fins that fanned from the side of her head and blazing red hair held up in a ponytail by a gold ribbon. She had a quiver with arrows poking up from one shoulder.

Her eye was narrowed with a burning rage, and her hold on the arrow on her bow firm.

Frisk couldn't form words, her body shaking.

"You. Human scum. Are coming with me." The fish said firmly, her voice cold.

"W-w-"

The fish drew the arrow back slightly farther.

"No questions. _Move._ " The fish's voice was sharper than the tip of the arrow she held.

Frisk shakily complied, forgetting everything else but sheer terror.

What did this stranger want with her? What did she do? She thought she was safe here.

The fish walked closely behind, the arrow dangerously close to Frisk's back. Frisk shivered and walked on, her steps uncertain and clumsy.

They went past the welcoming house of the skeleton brothers, and into a clear path by the river. The water was completely frozen over, and the distance hidden by a heavy icy fog.

Frisk's throat tightened. _No ones here… oh no…_

As they walked by a sturdy spruce tree, she caught a glimpse of yellow.

One of those yellow stars she had seen before sat beneath the needles, glowing bright.

Frisk felt a strong connection to it, and her feet stoped suddenly.

The arrow jabbed her back precariously.

" _Keep moving!"_ The fish growled.

Frisk whimpered and forced her feet to keep moving. As they moved past, Frisk tried to touch the star with her tail. The tip lightly brushed the star.

Frisk felt a strong jolt of energy and warmth that made her flinch. It ebbed away as soon as it came, however, and she didn't have time to think about it as she was forced to move onward.

Eventually they came to the end of the stretch of land, right in front of a hill.

" _Stop."_ The fish growled.

Frisk froze, her limbs stiff with fear. She was trembling now.

 _What is she going to do…_

A tightness in Frisk's stomach told her she already knew the most likely answer.

Panic flared up in her chest.

 _What am I going to do?! I should've ran back into the library! I'm too far away now… unless maybe… I…_

Frisk's mind whirled until she thought she was going to throw up.

She turned back to face the Fish, eyes wide.

As the fish opened her mouth to talk, Frisk hastily knelt down and picked up a handful of snow, chucking it at the fishes eye.

She didn't expect this, and hissed as the cold substance collided with her face.

Frisk realized she _screwed_ up, but didn't stay to think on it. Her legs started moving involuntarily as she ran as fast as she could back towards Snowdin.

 _If I can get back, I can get help! Please…_

She got halfway across the clearing when she heard a voice behind her.

"You shouldn't have done that, _human."_

There was a sharp snap, and the next moment red hit pain blazed through her torso.

Frisk stumbled over, feeling the arrow that had hit her dig deeper, making her gasp.

She stayed still after that, the pain paralyzing her.

 _No… no… it hurts…_

Frisk's eyes grew watery, and she couldn't stop the tears that began to run down her face.

There was the crunch of footsteps behind her, and soon the fish was standing over her, looking royally pissed.

Something flashed in the monsters eye, but Frisk couldn't catch it. The fabric around the arrow was starting to feel warm and sticky.

The fish raised her hand.

"Farewell, human."

A glowing blue spear materialized in her hand, and Frisk watched it come down in the few seconds she had before the world went black.

The next thing she felt was weightless, like she was floating in a dark void that never ended. She couldn't think or breathe or hear, only _feel._

Then she was right back in the snow, standing beside the spruce tree with the fish behind her.

Frisk drew in a desperate breath, the adrenaline and fear bursting forth. She stumbled into the snow, unable to process _what the hell_ just happened.

"What the- Get up!" The fish snapped.

Frisk looked back at her, shaking. She touched the place where the arrow had hit her with her hand, but nothing remained but a faint ache.

She had died.

 _Again._

Her mind slowly put the pieces together.

 _T-this… happened l-l-last time… with the d-dog… I-it was that st-star…_

Frisk fought back tears and swallowed hard, feeling the powerful sensation deep in her soul she had experienced many times before.

This caused her mind to clear slightly.

"Why… are you doing this?" Frisk asked, evenly. Her panic was going down surprisingly fast- replaced with DETERMINATION that must come from just _dying_ not to long ago.

The fish's eye twitched.

"I'm taking your soul and giving it to the king." She growled.

Frisk's ears moved back slightly, but her determination grew. The logical part of her mind whimpered pitifully, but the hidden part was growing stronger.

"Then I'll be able to join the royal guard, like I've always dreamed." The fish added.

Frisk's ears pricked up in surprise.

 _I've heard that before… wait, didn't Papyrus have a friend… who he said he worked with?_

"Are you friends with Papyrus?" Frisk blurted out.

The fish blinked. Then she lowered her bow.

"Yes, I know him. The damn skeleton was _supposed_ to capture you, but it seems he's made friends with a fucking human instead."

The strong language sounded in place coming out of the monsters mouth.

Frisk Inched back ever so slightly, moving her arm near her pocket.

"Well… do you… really need to be in the royal guard? Papyrus-"

The fish stomped in anger.

"Hell yes I do! I've worked so damn hard my entire life to get in that damn guard, but that stupid dog always gets me! I can't do well in this cold environment, but if I could just… but that's not the only reason I need your soul, human! We've been trapped down her for ages… all because of your race! You trapped us down here and it's my duty to help bring the justice we need!" The fish bared her teeth, and Frisk was halfway between returning the gesture or tucking her tail between her legs.

The smallest thing could tip her in either way now, and she hoped this rush of determination lasted.

Frisk narrowed her eyes.

"What did I do?"

The fish monster's eye opened a little wider.

"H-huh? What did you do? You're a human, that's what!"

"And if you were a human and I were a monster, how would you feel?" Frisk countered.

The monster paused, then shook her head angrily.

"Fuck it. You are the last piece in the puzzle we need, and the last piece I need to get what I've fought my whole life to get. I don't give a fuck what you say, human! So stop talking and get moving!"

Frisk blinked, the burning in her chest spreading. Her heart was still pounding, but her head was dangerously clear.

Frisk stood up slowly, but didn't move.

This fish was trying to take her away from Snowdin.

From her new friends.

From the library, from the Skeleton's home. From sudoku puzzles with Papyrus and from late night movies with Sans.

She was taking her away from everything she found, and Frisk realized she wasn't ready to let it go just yet.

And even if that meant throwing her shy, fearful self to the side, that's what it had to be.

"…You're not taking me away." Frisk said quietly, halfway between a growl and an uncertain whimper.

The fish monster narrowed her eye, the pupil becoming thinner.

" _What_?"

" _You're_ _not taking me away from them."_ Frisk growled, louder. Her voice was solid now, and a part of her found it hard to believe it came from her own mouth.

The monster seemed surprised at this, but then quickly hardened. Her bow faded from her hand.

"So be it. If you won't offer your soul voluntarily, I'll have to take it from you. In the name of monster kind and my own damn dignity, I, Undyne, will strike you down!"

Frisk drew her dagger without a word.

Hopefully she wouldn't have to use it.

But a part of her told her talking to this monster wouldn't work like it did on the softer likes of Asgore and Papyrus.

The thought sent a twinge of uncertainty into her gut.

As Frisk's soul came out, she noted that the red streaks were glowing brighter, and seemed more abundant.

"En guard!" Undyne growled, and She summoned a spear, swiping the air with it.

Suddenly, Frisk's soul turned a bright, dazzling green. It startled her, even more so when she noticed an almost transparent green shield in front of her.

The monster then swiped the air with her spear again, this time smaller spears forming it its wake.

"You'll have to face danger head on to survive a moment against me!"

Frisk didn't have a moment to question her statement as the blue spears began rocketing towards her.

Frisk gasped and stumbled back, losing her resolve for a moment.

Luckily, she didn't move around. Stupid in another situation, but not in this one.

The spears collided with the shield, and made a sound like bullets hitting a car that echoed through the empty clearing.

Frisk took a breath and realized what the shield was for.

What else would a shield be used for?

Undyne sneered at her.

"What, you ready to tuck that stupid little tail of yours between your legs?"

Frisk growled lightly, tensing up and preparing for the next attack, her tail bristling and her ears flared.

 _I need to focus… this isn't like Papyrus…_

In a meer second, the spears were hurdling at her again, and she dig her feet into the ground. Her heart was beating faster than the fastest plane, but her soul burned with DETERMINATION.

Maybe she could actually do this.

Frisk flinched as the spears crashed against the shield, the sharp sound hurting her ears.

Frisk caught a flash of blue in the corner of her eye, and reeled around to catch two more spears coming from her right.

She just now noticed her body was quaking.

Frisk heard the crunch of her footsteps and turned again.

Undyne was sprinting towards her, spear in hand. Her soul was no longer green, and the shield faded into the crisp air.

Frisk squeaked and jumped to the side, watching the spear stab the air where she would have been seconds earlier.

Frisk's chest pounded as she acted on impulse, slicing at the fish in a panicked manner. She easily blocked it with her spear, and the dagger slid off the glowing surface harmlessly.

She felt a twinge of fear break through her determination, staring into the fish's blazing yellow eye and sharp, sneering smile.

"You gonna have to try a little harder than _that."_ She growled.

Frisk pulled her arm back, trying to move backwards. She wasn't fast enough, and before she could think Undyne raised her leg and kicked the human in the stomach, sending her rolling through the snow. It was all she could do to keep a grip on her dagger.

Frisk felt the breath leave her lungs. She was left wheezing and winded in the snow, grasping at her stomach.

Undyne wasted no time in approaching her, and Frisk struggled to her feet. Her legs were shaking so badly that it was hard to keep standing.

But she felt a twinge in her soul and the burning feeling grow stronger.

 _She couldn't let this fish kill her._

But…

Could she kill to save her own life?

Frisk blinked, not thinking of this. She wasn't given time as she felt her soul change and the green shield appear again.

The spears came faster than before, and Frisk found it hard to spin around in time to catch them.

"Well, I'm surprised you haven't been skewered to mush yet! Consider yourself lucky, scum." Undyne said sharply. Frisk felt her ears twitch, but she didn't pay any attention.

She had to focus on the spears.

They soon became the only thing in her world, coming from left and right and north and south.

However, a yellow spear emerged from the other blue spears, throwing her off. Then it disappeared, confusing her more.

Seconds later the same yellow was reflected on the back of her shield, behind her.

Frisk felt her ears move back as she turned and tried stepping away, her mind swirling.

Seconds later it flew past her, slicing her arm.

At first Frisk thought it was just a cut in her sweater, but seconds later a warm, wet feeling proved it wasn't.

She didn't feel the pain, however. Perhaps because of the adrenaline, or the determination.

Seeing her own blood well up on the gash made her feel dizzy and disoriented. Despite the world being black and white- with the occasional colorful magic- she could see the red of her blood clearly.

Frisk turned back towards Undyne, feeling her soul shift yet again.

 _Maybe she can't hold that state for long…._

Undyne looked slightly peeved.

"No human has ever lasted this long. Whatever, I'll finish this soon!"

Undyne jumped forwards, a new spear in her hand. Frisk took a breath and jumped to the side.

Her thoughts went back to the dagger in her hand.

It would save her life to kill Undyne, but how would Papyrus feel? As much as she hated to believe, this fish was his friend…

After all he did for her, what right did she have to do that to her?

Undyne came forward again, swinging her fist. Frisk just narrowly avoided her armored knuckles, feeling her stomach drop.

She was losing resolve.

Uh oh.

In a panic Frisk lashed out with her hand, aiming her sharp nails at her opponents face.

Undyne growled as her nails made contact, leaving red scratches across the fish's skin. Frisk jumped back, holding her hand.

 _Huh, guess this Wolf crap does come in handy…_

Undyne's gaze followed her, a rage burning in her eye.

"You're _gonna pay for that, human!"_

Frisk gulped.

She could never match her physically, especially since she had lost some of her determination. She didn't want to kill her, either, as much as she would have liked.

What could she do?

As Undyne came at her, something flashed in her mind.

 _Maybe I should… fight more like I just did… like a wolf…_

Frisk nodded to herself and suddenly turned tail, running from the fish.

She could hear a surprised grunt from Undyne, and the sound of a spear forming.

"Say goodb-"

Frisk suddenly slammed her feet into the ground and turned around, facing the fish. She slashed at Undyne's hand with her dagger before jumping off to the side.

Undyne roared with rage. "You little SHIT. What the hell are humans made out of!?"

Frisk circled around Undyne, trying to think.

She couldn't tire her out… Undyne was trained and she wasn't. Besides, the gash in her arm was still bleeding and who knows what other wounds she would get.

Frisk noticed the Ice ahead giving off a glint off bright light at her current angle.

Frisk felt something in her gut, an instinct.

 _Maybe… if I get her over there… on the ice…_

Suddenly, Frisk felt a surge as an idea formed.

 _That's it! If I can get her on the ice and then break it and get her wet, I can slow her down!_

Undyne grunted and tried to come at her again, and Frisk could feel the air rush past her as she dodged just in time.

Her legs shook slightly, alerting her to the increasing emergency of her situation. She couldn't keep dodging by a hair.

Frisk's eyes flashed from Undyne to the ice. Undyne was huffing and grunting in rage, clenching and unclenching her fists. Her fins were fanned and shook slightly.

"You're… just like him, Dammit!" Undyne smashed her spear against the ground. "You stupid dogs never stand and die! Always moving, always looking… looking at me like that! That exact look! I see it in your eyes… Damn you!" Undyne was pointing at her face, and Frisk's eyes widened slightly.

"H-huh?"

Undyne's eye twitched.

"Your eyes… they're deep, yet sharp, narrow. Like a wolf. I hate that look! I'm not like you Moon-bloods… I'm a Sun- blood and I'm proud of it! I won't take that shit from anyone, whether it be that pathetic dog or you!"

 _M-moon… blood? Sun blood? What are those?_

Frisk couldn't help but cock her head in curiousity.

Undyne seemed upset by this.

"What the hell? Stop looking at me like that and just _die!"_

Frisk scrambled back to the current situation and ducked as a spear was thrown at her. She was surprised she wasn't turned green yet again.

 _Can she not do it again? Well, maybe that's good… but I need to find a way to get her over there…_

Frisk looked over at her arm, at the deep scarlet soaking her sweater. Realizing it's existence, she felt a pang of pain in her arm, still dulled from adrenaline.

 _She doesn't have her bow, I need to run for it. Oh boy… please don't let me die… please…_

Frisk steeled her nerves and just as Undyne made another move towards her Frisk began sprinting away as fast as she could.

"You little _brat!_ You're not getting away from me!"

Frisk forced her legs to move as fast as she could manage, trying to overcome the snow. She could hear the heavy clunks of Undyne's feet behind her.

Just as she reached the bank of the frozen river she heard a whizz, the sound Undyne's magic made. Frisk cursed and turned around throwing herself to the ground as an arrow flew past her head. She felt the tip graze the top of her head, and her heart crashed.

She could see the shadow of Undyne as the warrior loomed over her. Frisk rolled as fast as she could and pulled herself to her feet.

In the time she spent finding her feet Undyne had come over, bow in hand. Just as Frisk looked up she slammed the side into the humans face, and Frisk shrieked in pain as she was sent sliding across the ice.

The hit left her dazed as black dots raced across her vision. The distinct metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, and the ice was cold against her cheek.

Frisk couldn't let her eyes close. She feared they wouldn't open again.

 _I need… to…. Get… a little further… o-out…_

Undyne stepped onto the ice, her reflection distorted on the ice. Frisk got to her knees, one hand holding her head.

She realized her dagger wasn't in her other hand. A quick glance revealed it had fallen a little further out on the ice.

Frisk looked from it to Undyne. She was already dizzy, standing would make it ten times worse. The ice wouldn't help. She wouldn't be able to react fast enough.

Frisk squeezed her eyes shut for a moment.

 _Oh no…_

Undyne glared at her, spear forming in her hand.

"This is it, human. Take your last breaths." She sounded slightly triumphant.

Frisk drew in air into her aching lungs and summoned all her strength to send herself sliding towards her dagger.

"You can't go anywhere, human."

Undyne slowly started to walk towards her, and Frisk felt more panic well up in her chest.

 _The ice isn't breaking! It needs to break… please…_

As Undyne drew closer Frisk could feel the desperation choking her, killing her.

She reached for the dagger, and , in one last move, slammed it into the ice.

It broke through, the blade burying itself in the frozen water.

Frisk heard a loud crack, and as Undyne's heavily armored foot came down again, heard another crack.

Hope rushed into her chest like a wave.

 _Is it… breaking?_

Suddenly, quicker than anything she ever knew, the ice shattered…

Sending both of them into the water.

Frisk let out a surprised scream before she fell into the ice cold water.

All around the ice was cracking and breaking, and the river began rushing again. The water was so cold, it was painful. Frisk opened her mouth in a silent cry, sending a spray of bubbles from her mouth as her body was unable to move from shock.

The rivers current pulled at her, and she could feel herself turning and spinning. She could feel herself slamming against chunks of ice.

Her world was a swirl of bubbles and ice and darkness. Her chest felt pinned and she felt a desperate feeling in her lungs. On impulse she opened her mouth and tried to suck in air, only to suck in the freezing water into her lungs.

She coughed, pain spreading through her chest.

 _I-I- oh n-no no no…_

Frisk finally moved her limbs, trying her hardest to fight against the water, she didn't know what was up or down, left or right. She just kicked out in panic, trying her hardest to reach _something._

Her head broke the surface unexpectedly, and she sucked in a short gulp of air. She couldn't take in more- her lungs needed to be rid of water. Her head bobbed as she struggled to stay up, chunks of ice hitting her as she did so.

She caught a glimpse of a tree in the corner of her eye and started trying to reach it with all her might. She still couldn't breath- all she could manage was short gasps and it was doing nothing.

One of her kicks hit ground, and she realized she reached the bank again. Frisk struggled onto the shore, coughing up the river water and crawling onto the snow.

The chilly air hitting her cold body _hurt._

Frisk collapsed, her body trembling violently and her teeth chattering against her will.

Everything was so _cold._

She couldn't form thoughts or images, all she knew was the painful cold and horrible feeling in her chest.

She heard a faint cough coming from her right, and she slowly turned towards it.

Undyne had crawled up on shore as well, the fur on her coat frozen stiff in clumps. Her skin had lost its color, now a pale, frost bitten blue.

Frisk let out a tiny wheeze.

Looks like they both lost.

It took her a few moments to realize Undyne wasn't moving. She almost looked frozen herself.

She almost looked like a frozen fish taken out of a freezer.

Frisk flinched with realization.

 _She's dying from the cold…_

It suddenly felt a lot worse to see her die.

It felt better when she was about to kill her, but…

Frisk shuddered with the memory of her death.

She then remembered Papyrus. His innocence, his loneliness.

This was one of his only friends.

Frisk stared ahead for a few more moments before grunting and pulling her shaking body off the snow.

Her limbs felt frozen and didn't want to bend, and her sweater was stiff.

She stumbled, almost falling over from the rush of dizziness that came with standing up. She focused on the spruce tree ahead, trying to keep her balance.

Once this was done, she began to limp back towards Snowdin.

Everything but the path right in front of her was blurry. The blurr began to spread, and soon everything was a white and green blob.

Frisk felt her mind slip, and she couldn't stop her legs from giving out and her body from crashing into the snow.

 _Looks like I didn't make it after all…_

Frisk felt oddly detached, and the thought didn't scare her.

Just as she closed her eyes and the world began to fade, she heard a familiar call from up ahead.

…

Everything was warm.

She couldn't think at first. She didn't think about where she was, what just happened, what she felt. Everything was warm, and that was all she knew.

Soon she began to come around, feel the soft blankets and pillow. She also realized there was a mattress beneath her instead of a couch.

Frisk's eyes opened without her telling them to, and she grunted at the light.

She raised her arm up to her head, covering her eyes.

Too bright.

There was a soft _click_ , and the light in the room dimmed.

"Sorry 'bout that, I was just being a numbskull I guess, heh."

Frisk jumped at the sound of the familiar voice, eyes flying open. The pain in her head and arm flared, but the recent memories flooding her mind along with current questions distracted her.

Frisk realized she was in a new place she had never been on before. It was rather messy, various debris scattered across the floor. She was on a plain mattress with no sheets, right up against the wall.

Sans was sitting cross legged on the floor next to the mattress, what looked like a joke book in his lap. He stared at her with lazy, half lidded eyes.

Frisk was slightly disturbed to wake up to Sans of all people staring at her, but she decided it was better than a Undyne.

Frisk let out a breath of relief.

She wasn't dead.

Sans blinked slowly, his head resting on his hand.

"'Bout time you've woken up. Any longer and I think Pap would have a heart attack… well, I guess he can't have one of those, can he?" Sans snorted.

"Sans… where…" Frisk felt slightly awkward, being in some random persons bed.

"My room. Undyne's got the couch. Papyrus didn't want to put either of ya on the floor."

"Oh." Frisk flinched.

Not some random person after all.

Sans seemed to notice this, and his expression changed.

"Hey, chill, its fine. I don't care. I just keep the door locked all the time to keep Papyrus from coming in here and bugging me about cleaning it."

Frisk sighed and tried not face-palm.

Of course that's why.

Sans yawned, closing the book.

"So, it looks like ya got in a bit of a scuffle with Undyne. Pap was lookin' for ya at the Library and the Librarian said you'd been gone for a while. He seemed pretty worried and I guess it rubbed off on Pap. He thought you left or somethin'."

Frisk rubbed her eye, trying not to move her aching arm.

"Um… yeah… I guess… I had been called out by someone and she just dragged me away…" Frisk shuddered, remembering the arrow going through her torso as she died.

She did a hell of a lot more than drag her away.

"I gotta say Snap pea, That's a pretty nice feat right there. She's the strongest non-Canine monster I know around here… well, maybe second strongest. If she wants something dead, it's most likely gonna die. You really left a mark on her face."

Frisk looked away.

It felt kind of… weird… to think back to that.

Sans chuckled deeply.

"Well, not to say she didn't leave a mark on yours. But hey, turn towards me."

Frisk's ears pricked as Sans stood up, stretching.

"H-huh?"

Sans pointed a boney finger at her arm.

"I didn't want to touch that while you were out. It's not terribly deep, but it looks like it still needs something and I didn't want Papyrus to do it cause he'll overreact and think your arm is going to fall off."

Frisk smiled lightly and shook her head, thinking of the tall, innocent skeleton.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Frisk turned hesitantly, looking at her arm herself.

The gash was still bright red, the skin and cloth around it deep red. Frisk realized with a pang of fear it was a lot worse that she has first thought- but like Sans had said, it wasn't terribly bad.

Frisk was uncomfortable as Sans got closer, and she had to stop herself from pulling away.

Sans poked around it a little, and Frisk was almost on the edge of growling at him when he finally pulled away.

He put his hands up.

"Hey, see? No harm done. Now, I'm going to go downstairs and get the aid kit, and check on that damn fish stick. Odds are she's gonna be a little upset when she's up and I can't afford a new couch."

As Sans turned and left, closing the door lightly behind him.

Frisk let out the air she had been holding, happy she was finally alone.

Frisk surveyed her surroundings in closer detail. A dusty exercise bike was shoved in one corner, and it looked like it had never been looked at for years and years. A crooked desk was also present, as well as a dark wood dresser. It seemed it served no purpose, as all of Sans's clothes seemed to be spread across the floor like the aftermath of a teenage drinking party.

The thing that really caught her eye, however, was a large poster of a wolf on the wall. It was posed over a snowy mountain, it's eyes deep and wise and it's stance powerful.

Frisk remembered that both his jacket and shirt had wolf prints on them.

 _It seems he likes wolves, I guess._

Frisk looked down at her own tail, which had been unconsciously wrapped around her feet.

 _Maybe he can tell me more about this and how it happened…_


	13. Chapter 12- Coffee

Sans returned shortly, carrying a foam cup of some sorts and a small case with a sticker of bones shaped like a cross on it.

 _That's cute. But why do skeletons need band-aids, anyways?_

Frisk shook her head, deciding to let it slide.

There was so much that was odd about these guys.

"Heya." Sans greeted, approaching the bed. Frisk avoided eye contact.

"… Well, Hi Sans! How are you!" Sans said sarcastically to himself after a moment, setting the case on the bed and the cup on the nightstand.

Frisk glanced up at him for a moment, eyes narrowed.

Sans stared right back.

"Heh, yes, I am making fun of you."

Frisk made a deep, rumbling sound in her throat before looking away again.

Sans sighed and clicked the case open.

The case was full of band-aids, gauze, medical tape, sterile wipes, and a random lollipop.

"Oh, hey, that's where Pap's lollipop went. That things like, three years old now. Wow."

Sans pulled out the gauze and pointed at her injured arm.

"Arm."

Frisk groaned and put her hand over the cut.

"It's not that bad, please leave it alone." She whined.

"One, it was oozing blood all the way back. Two, it's deep and will get infected. Three, I am not some vampire skeleton that will suck your blood. So git over here."

Frisk whined again but scooted over, hesitantly offering her arm.

Sans started examining it again.

"I thought you had warmed up to us by now. Guess that's not the case, eh? Must be that it's kinda hard to warm up in weather like this, heh."

Frisk felt her ears moving backward in annoyance.

"…"

Sans pulled her sleeve up and took one of the wipes, patting around the wound.

Frisk tensed up and unconsciously growled.

"Oh, stoppit. Great lord you're touchy today. That time of the month?"

Frisk snorted and blushed at the same time.

"No. Stop. Wait… how do you know about… that…"

"Undyne slept over once and her crotch decided it didn't like our couch."

Frisk's eyes widened.

Ew.

"I… slept… on that… couch…. I need to bleach myself now. And the blankets must be burned."

"Hey, she's not fish Satan. Pretty damn close, though. Stop moving so much."

Frisk pushed air through her nose and forced herself to freeze.

She didn't like the feeling of Sans's boney fingers against her skin. They felt… unnatural, hard. They were extremely gentle, though, and contrary to what she would believe about skeletons, they were warm. Once he had cleaned away all the dried blood, Sans wrapped it up.

Once he was done, Frisk eagerly pulled away, sucking in a breath.

Good, done.

Sans stared at her for a few moments before rolling his eyes.

"There you go. Now, you need a new article of clothing to replace your sweater for the time being."

Frisk's ears flattened against her head.

She only washed her clothes while taking a shower, since they were the only clothes she owned now.

"Seriously. Now, I can look around and see if I have something, or Papyrus can ask Undyne when she wakes up. I think I know the answer."

"…. Please look around…" Frisk answered quietly, looking down with a light stomach.

She did _not_ want to wear something of his.

But she would not wear the same clothing that fish wore.

It probably smelled like sushi anyways.

"Spoiler alert." Sans joked before heading up to his dresser.

Amazingly, there were clothes inside. They were shoved in randomly, but they still occupied the drawers. Sans threw the clothes he found randomly onto the floor, until he found a large, fuzzy looking gray sweater.

"I remember this, Papyrus got it for me a year ago. I didn't wanna wear it cause it's real itchy. It's the best thing I got besides all of these weird t-shirts. Probably the only clean one too."

Frisk blinked and pointed to the new clothes on the floor.

"Those aren't clean?"

Sans shrugged.

"I dunno."

Frisk made herself smaller as he threw the sweater at her. It landed on her face.

It was really soft, and fuzzy. It made her sneeze almost instantly.

"Well, there ya go. Actually didn't do too bad. "

Frisk moved the sweater from her eye so she could see Sans.

The skeleton was standing in the middle of his room, unmoving.

Frisk spoke after a few awkward heartbeats.

"Are… you going to leave?"

"Why?"

"I assume… I'm going to change into this, right?"

"Oh."

"Sans, you grabbed this so I could change into it."

"I know, I'm just not used to someone else changing in our house. Pap and I don't have no issues with each other cause we're brothers, and Undyne don't give two shits. Leads to some… awkward situations."

Sans's cheekbones gained a blue blush to them, and Frisk puffed her cheeks in a suppressed laugh.

"I'll be downstairs, bye. Oh, and that's for you, it's a coffee." Sans pointed at the cup on the nightstand before leaving.

Frisk blinked and looked at it. The thought of expressing gratitude processed just a little too late.

 _Aw, he left before I could say thank you… for everything… dammit. Screw you Sans._

Frisk browsed the area one last time before taking off her dirty sweater.

Upon examining her torso, she found large bruises decorating her skin. She didn't touch them, seeing as just the sight of them made her cringe. They weren't that sore, however, compared to her arm and head.

Frisk pulled the new sweater on as slowly as possible. The gauze Sans had applied to her arm left a bulge in the material. Other than that, it was actually pretty comfortable.

Frisk didn't want to lie back down- seeing as this wasn't her room- and instead took the coffee and played around with the black top before trying some.

And holy damn was it good.

The second the rich, creamy liquid hit her tongue she felt her eyes widen.

By the time Frisk was finished with it, she was sure her pupils were the size of some American celebrity's overfilled lip, but she could care less.

Caffeine, man.

Her mind was foggy but her body was to the point of twitching with energy.

Frisk took out this newfound energy by cleaning up Sans's room, cause why not?

Except she didn't want to bend over, so she just sorta rolled across the carpet and picked up all the stuff.

Monster coffee was great.

Sans came in about fifteen minutes later.

His eye lights flickered for a moment as they took in the scene.

"Uh… I didn't give ya permission to clean my room… I thought you were not feeling well or something."

Frisk stared at him for a little bit before taking the pile of stuff she had gathered and re-made the mess.

Why should she clean his room anyways?

Sans stared awkwardly.

Frisk crossed her arms and huffed.

"There you go. All better."

"Are you feeling okay? You're … uh…"

"No. No I'm not. You hurt my feelings."

Frisk then rolled under the bed.

She liked it under here.

Sans knelt by the bed, his eyes glowing.

"Is Coffee, like, some sort of drug or something? Cause I see you finished it all."

"Maybe." Frisk replied, curling up.

"If I give ya another one will you stop being mad at me or whatever?"

"Yes." Frisk said enthusiastically.

"Jeez, Snap pea. Guess I'm a drug dealer then. Come on." Sans motioned her to come out.

Frisk growled softly, but decided more coffee was great and obeyed.

She froze at the door, her happy expression fading.

"W-wait!"

Sans turned to face her.

"Huh?"

"W-what about U-Undyne?" Frisk asked

"She's not up yet. You don't have to worry about her anymore, trust me. You're fine."

"Until I go out on my own that is." Frisk said bitterly.

Something flashed in Sans's eyes.

"Hey, She'll leave you alone now. Not only is Pap here, I'm here. And trust me, if I tell her off, she's gonna go off."

There was a note in his voice that Frisk didn't like, and it unnerved her.

She shook it off as she followed him down the stairs as quietly as possible. She accidentally put her hurt arm in the railing, and hissed as it burned for the rest of the way down.

She was immediately stormed by Papyrus.

"HUMAN! ARE YOU FEELING BETTER!? I WAS VERRY WORRIED FOR YOU!"

Sans stood between her and the concerned Papyrus, which Frisk was grateful for.

Hearing his sharp voice again sent a throb through her head, though.

"She's alright, Paps. Just give her some space, she's real touchy right now." Sans told him.

Frisk scowled once more.

"I'm touchy because I don't like being touched. Is that so bad?" She huffed.

"We're getting' ya more coffee, calm yourself. No need to get snappy, Snap Pea."

"Please. Stop. Calling. Me. That." Frisk hissed.

"No." Sans said smugly.

Frisk threw her arms out, wincing as pain flared by her injuries.

"Why the hell do you call me that? Where the hell did it come from? It makes absolutely n-"

Sans put his pointer finger up to her lip.

"Shhhhhh, you don't wanna wake up angry frozen Satan fish, do ya?"

Frisk glared at him, but didn't open her mouth any more.

"Coffee time." He turned.

Papyrus looked down at his brother.

"Sans, coffee is bad for you! Why are you giving it to the human!?"

"Okay, bro, she was pretty wasted before, then she drank her coffee and was cleaning my room. I think coffee is like, magic and it actually heals humans, bro."

Frisk had to suppress a giggle as Sans gave her a joking glance.

Papyrus's glance lightened.

"Is that so, human? If so then you must have as much coffee as you can! Then you'll be all better!"

Frisk squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep the laughter in.

Frisk followed Sans into the kitchen, sticking close to the wall opposite to the couch. Undyne was sprawled out, limbs hanging off the couch as she snorted obnoxiously.

Sans opened the cabinets and jumped up so he could reach what Frisk assumed to be the coffee.

It was in a light brown bag, and the contents shook as he dropped them on the counter.

"There ya' go."

Frisk looked at the bag, then at him.

"… you want me to eat ground coffee?"

"Yeah, you never said you wanted it with water, Puppo."

Frisk faceplamed.

"I'm not eating the ground coffee."

"Hello I'm not eating the ground coffee, I'm Sans."

Frisk groaned, grabbed a towel, and threw it at him.

He laughed and shielded his face with his arm.

He the jumped down and pointed at the microwave on the opposite side.

"There's the microwave, I would put the water in for about a minute. The sugar and creamer is on the bottom shelf. You can also take whatever you want, just don't dump all of the coffee into one cup please. I need that."

"Okay, I'll be sure to leave a pellet or two." Frisk joked.

Sans snorted and elbowed her lightly before leaving.

Frisk blinked, watching him go.

… _I wanted him to make it… aww…_

Her head was still aching slightly, but most of the pain had gone away. She was no longer groggy due to the last cup of heaven she had, and she actually felt… happy.

As she grabbed a cute mug with a bone on it, her mind began to wander to dark places.

 _That star… it's just like the last one. I died, and it brought me back. So that's what… Flowey was talking about…_

Frisk shuddered at the thought of the flower.

She hated him even more than she hated Undyne.

She filled the mug and placed it in the microwave, pressing the "1" button. The appliance spring to live, letting off a slow humming sound as the mug spun inside.

Frisk watched it turn, her eyes following it in an attempt to stop thinking about what happened before.

 _I can worry about that later, I just want to live in the moment. Right now._

The microwave finished and beeped, the light fading. As she reached in to grab her mug, she heard a heavy crash from the living room, making her jump. Her hand grazed the top of the microwave, burning it.

"WHERE IS THAT HUMAN?!"

Frisk yelped at the sound of Undyne's angry voice and looked about frantically, running across the kitchen and shoving herself in the corner between the refrigerator and counter. Shaking, she made herself as small as possible.

The microwave door hung open, swaying gently back and forth.

She could hear Papyrus trying to calm her down.

"Undyne, please! Just h-"

"THAT LITTLE BITCH! WHERE IS SHE!?"

She heard stomping, and the stairs sounded like they were on the verge of breaking as she stormed up them.

There was more shouting, doors being slammed open, and then more stomping.

"PAPYRUS, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! THAT HUMAN. WILL KILL. EVERYONE YOU LOVE!"

"Undyne, she's my friend! She doesn't want to hurt anyone!" Papyrus pleaded.

Frisk felt her throat tighten as Undyne's footsteps grew closer.

However, she saw a familiar black and blue jacket as Sans entered first.

He looked around, and she noticed his eye lights were gone completely. It scared her even further.

Did Undyne get him to believe she was bad?

No, he wouldn't turn on her.

He said he'd tell her off if he had to.

Frisk poked her head out from the corner quickly to reveal her location to him before pulling it back in.

Sans walked over, his eyes wider. Frisk instinctively squirmed deeper into the narrow space, feeling her ears flatten even more.

Sans knelt down, staring her in the eyes. The lights in his eye sockets slowly flickered back. His expression notably softened.

"How'd ya shove yourself all the way in there? Hey, it's fine. We're not gonna let her hurt ya, okay?"

Frisk slowly nodded, unable to stop herself from shaking.

She was _terrified._

Sans gave her a soft smile.

"Man, and I thought your big green eyes couldn't get any bigger. Scared to the _bone,_ huh?"

Frisk didn't respond.

How could she?

Sans turned around and stood up, not moving.

Undyne barreled in, her single yellow eye burning with rage.

Papyrus followed, looking more worried than she had ever seen him.

Her heart was beating so hard it was painful.

Undyne's eye fell on Sans.

"Where. Is. The. Human."

Sans shrugged casually, which was amazing with the intense tension crackling in the air.

"I dunno."

Undyne's brow furrowed as her eye scanned the space behind Sans, and Frisk felt a new surge of fear.

She bared her teeth as it seemed she made the connection.

"You do know, you lying piece of shit. _Move."_ The fish snarled.

Frisk shut her eyes, trembling, pulling her tail closer.

Was this it?

Thankfully, Sans didn't budge an inch.

"Naw, I don't feel like it." He responded.

Undyne stomped closer threateningly.

"This is the last time I'm saying it. MOVE."

Sans looked up at her.

"You know I'm a lazy guy. So this is the last time _I'm_ saying this. _No_."

Undyne's face filled with disgust.

"What got into you, _sentry._ If you had just done you job and killed the damn vermin, we wouldn't be in this mess. Why did you all of the sudden change your damn mind and decide to side with the human, huh?"

 _He… was supposed to kill me?_

"That, Undyne, is none of your business."

Undyne clenched and unclenched her fist, looming over Sans's dangerously.

He was the last thing between her and death by angry fish.

"It is when it involves the entire fate of monster kind, _Judge._ " Her voice grew chillingly quiet.

"It's my business, along with everyone else's, when it involves _treason._ What do you have to say for yourself, _traitor._ "

She could _feel_ the air of blood Undyne gave off. Her mouth was pulled in an imposing grimace, and her body cast a shadow over the short skeleton.

As terrifying as Undyne was, she could feel the dangerous aura Sans was giving off as well. She couldn't see his face, but she knew the lights in his eyes were _long_ gone.

It chilled her to the _bone,_ to put it in his terms.

"Oh, so we're gonna bring that up, huh? Well, guess I gotta _judge_ then. What are your motivations for killing the human? You say you want to save monsters, but what's the real reason? You want to be in the royal guard. You thirst for power. That's why. Your motivation for killing the human are just as bad as mine to keep her alive."

Undyne's arms started quivering, probably with the need to _hammer_ the skeleton.

Frisk whimpered quietly.

 _I don't want Sans to get hurt…_

But as much as she tried, Undyne's primal anger combined with bad memories from their fight and a lack of determination left her a trembling, frozen mess.

"Oh, really? I admit, I had mixed resolves. At least I don't _run_ away from my problems, from my duties. You're just like _him,_ you _asshole. Move, before I make you."_ There was thunder in her tone that made Frisk whine.

"Undyne, Sans, please!" Papyrus begged.

Neither of them seemed to notice the younger brothers plea.

"So? _Tibia_ honest I could care less about what you think about what I've done. Make me move? That's a bad idea, and you know that. So you can turn around, and never touch the human again, or you can keep going and have a _bad time._ " Sans's voice had a deep, animal like growl to it. If she closed her eyes she would believe he was part beast.

Maybe he was.

Undyne glared at Sans for a few moments longer before roaring and stomping the ground in frustration. She then turned around.

She was actually leaving.

Papyrus jumped out of the doorway, letting her pass. She froze, turning her head.

"Fine. You can have your stupid pet human. But I have a feeling it won't last long. It'll die like all the others, and I wonder what it'll think after it finds out how all the other humans died?"

Frisk noticed Sans's shoulders tense at Undyne's words, but he said nothing.

Undyne walked out and through the front door, slamming it shut.

Frisk felt the breath she had been keeping locked in her lungs flow out shakily, relieved that Undyne was gone.

She was still shaken to the core.

That was _intense._

Sans sighed as well, and Papyrus peeked through the doorframe.

"H-human?" Papyrus called.

"She's in here, bro." Sans answered for her. A surge of gratitude filled her chest.

Sans bent down in front of her hiding spot and gently patted the ground in front of him.

"Alright, you can come outta there. You look like a smushed pancake in there."

Frisk swallowed hard and began inching her was out, hissing as she was forced to move her injured arm.

She was surprised herself that she managed to fit in here so fast.

Sans moved back to allow her to get out.

Despite what just happened, he still had the same grin on his face.

He reached out and gently brushed dirt away from her arm, and she didn't flinch this time.

Papyrus came closer, looking just as shaken up as she was.

"See, what did I tell ya? She ain't gonna hurt you. It wasn't as smooth as I expected though, sorry 'bout that." Sans said gently, and she realized he knew she was scared out of her mind.

"I tried telling her that you're my friend! She wouldn't listen to me, no matter what! We must change her mind!" Papyrus was still loud as always, but she was somewhat relieved by it.

She was right when she refused to let Undyne take her away.

These were her friends now.

Frisk kept her eyes on Sans.

"T-thank y-you… Sans…"

Sans shrugged her off.

"Eh, no problemo. Just… forget what ya' heard, alright?"

Frisk just nodded. Even though it sounded like stuff he was deliberately hiding from her, she knew he was on her side. He meant her no harm, and protected her. She at least owed him some personal privacy.

Even though the last thing Undyne said bothered her.

Sans sat back and looked up at Papyrus.

"Hey, you okay bro?"

Papyrus blinked.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be!"

"You look pretty shaken. Guess you lost a little _backbone,_ eh?"

Papyrus groaned.

"Sans! No!"

Sans chuckled deeply.

"Aww, come on. By the way, whattabout dinner?"

"Huh? What about- OH WAIT."

Papyrus suddenly dashed towards the fridge, startling Frisk.

"OH NO, WE ARE OUT OF INGREDIENTS!" Papyrus cried out.

"I thought so. I underestimated the food situation, I didn't really factor in Snap pea over here."

Frisk made herself small, feeling guilty.

"I… I'm s-"

Sans pointed at her.

"No. None of that. None-o-dat in this household."

Sans turned back to Papyrus.

"So…. We can get Grillby's, right?"

Papyrus inhaled sharply.

"That is so unhealthy and greasy! Sans!"

Frisk stared at him hard.

 _I think he let the food slide on purpose just so that he could ask for Grillby's ._

"Come on, bro. Please? I think we all could use a nice break to calm down. It's been a long day for us all." Sans glanced at her.

Papyrus sighed, loosening up.

"Fiiiine. Though I think you don't really need a break considering you're always on "a break", lazy bones."

Sans stood up, looking happy. Frisk stayed on the ground, not sure if her legs would support her yet.

"Hell yeah. I guess I could call it a double break, eh?"

"DO I NEED TO DIG UP THE BAD JAR AGAIN, SANS!"

…

Frisk refused to sit on the couch and instead made a blanket nest on the floor.

Papyrus sounded really upset, and Sans harassed her for an hour, but eventually the brothers let her be.

She could still _smell_ the fish's scent.

Everyone was quiet throughout dinner, which consisted of burgers, fries, and soda (juice for Papyrus). Sans was right- it had been a long day of worrying and trauma.

Yet even in the dark, Frisk didn't feel tired.

Her limbs ached, but her eyes wouldn't stay closed. So much had happened, and her mind kept wandering to the bad memories and her heart beat would begin to race again.

 _Damn it… I hate that fish…_

Frisk covered her head in the blankets, curling up.

She forced herself to stay still, trying to think of absolutely nothing.

It was beginning to work until a familiar set of footsteps began coming down the stairs.

Frisk tried to ignore him.

The footsteps went silent, and Frisk expected him to sit near her or the TV to turn on.

Yet that didn't happen.

Frisk peaked out from her blanket, expecting him to be staring at her for some odd reason.

He wasn't there.

Just then, Frisk heard the front door squeak open, and the sound of wind. The fresh air hit her nose.

Then the door shut.

Frisk jolted up and looked out the window, seeing Sans walking past.

What the hell was he doing?

Frisk watched him go, feeling a little concerned.

Why was he leaving so late at night?

Frisk shook her head and laid back down.

 _I promised him privacy to his own personal business,I need to leave him be…_

Despite this, her concern grew greater.

What if something was wrong?

Frisk eventually let out a frustrated exhale and stood up.

She slid her shoes on and walked over to the door, opening it slightly. The cold air bit her face uncomfortably.

She could see his footprints going through the snow, out through the town.

With a final steeling of her nerves, Frisk trudged out into the snow to follow.

She had never been outside this late, and the town was dark. No comforting lights, no sparkling snow. Everything was engulfed by shadow, and it unnerved her.

The only sound was the crunching of her footsteps and the wind.

She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering slightly.

The footprints continued out of town, and into the forest. They soon went off the trail, and Frisk grew increasingly worried.

What the hell was he doing?

Frisk increased her pace, scanning around her nervously.

Everything was so… dark.

Eventually, she saw a glimpse of blue and black through the trees.

Frisk slowed down, trying her hardest to step as quietly as possible.

Ahead was a clearing, with a steep, rocky hill extending up at the far side. The rocks glistened with ice and snow.

Sans walked up to this hill and began making his way up, much to her surprise.

He seemed to know exactly where to step, like he had done this before.

Frisk slunk through the snow, hiding behind a large rock.

She was worried he would slip on ice and fall.

What the hell?

He kept going up, and eventually Frisk followed up.

She stepped about clumsily, trying her best to keep her footing. She slipped more than once, it managed to stay out of radar.

The hill got steeper, and she was questioning her decision to follow.

What if _she_ fell?

 _At least he hasn't seen me…_

Suddenly, Sans stopped. Frisk felt her heart race.

 _What?_

"Watch your step, the rock to your right is lose. ya' creep."

Frisk yelped in surprise and almost fell over.

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

Sans turned around, looking a little startled himself.

"Hey, don't fall over! I don't think Paps will be happy if I dragged you home with a broken neck."

Frisk averted her eyes.

"…"

"I knew you were following me. I told you, I've got good ear holes. Not to mention you climb like a lopsided rabbit." He chuckled.

Frisk felt the burn on her face grow hotter.

"Sorry… I was just… worried…" Frisk forced out.

"It's cool… literally." He winked. "I do this every once and awhile. I'll show you why in a second. Come on."

Frisk looked up.

"You're not making me go back?"

"Why would I? I'm not hiding nothin. There's absolutely no point."

Frisk blinked a few times before moving up beside him, and he lead the way. She followed his footsteps, putting her feet where he put his. It helped a little, but she still felt unbalanced.

Eventually, the hill lost its steepness, and flattened out.

In top was a little space with a single old spruce tree.

The space ended with a sharp cliff overlooking the entire Snowdin forest.

As they moved up to the tree, Frisk could see Snowdin in the distance, as well as the river.

The river ran past the town, and into the mouth of a large cave.

The underground looked so much bigger from up here, there was so much she hadn't seen.

Sans sat down by the spruce trunk, and signaled for her to do the same.

"This is why. I like this spot. You can see all the way to Waterfall here."

Frisk nodded absently.

She noticed there looked like there was an actual sky, instead of the rock and dirt top of what the underground should look like.

She pointed at it.

"How is there a sky here?"

"There isn't. It's just magic. It's spread across the whole top, keeping us from going up and drilling out. It's what makes it dark and light, what gives us the weather we have down here."

"Oh." Frisk grew silent.

She felt bad for these people.

"You know…" Frisk eventually said. "Humans should be down here and you guys up on the surface."

Sans looked over at her in surprise.

"Huh, I dunno. That's a surprise, hearing from a human."

Frisk shrugged.

"Most humans up there are mean spirited. It's a miracle we are even still together. It's all run by greed and nastiness. People favor coldness and numbers over kindness. They can never make kindness work. Then you guys are down here knowing nothing else."

Sans closed his eyes and smiled. It looked almost ironic.

"Wow. You really are a weird one, aren't ya? Did you always hate your own kind?"

Frisk looked down.

"I don't exactly… hate people. There are a few gems. It's just… the reality of it all. I am a little bitter, I guess. Because I just can't stand all of the hate and cruelty that goes on up there. But no matter what I do, nothing I do matters. I'm not important, just another leaf on the pile. No one ever listened to me up there, and I just sorta… drifted away."

Sans was quiet for a moment.

"Huh. And I thought it was bad down here. Guess different worlds have different problems."

Frisk looked over at him.

"Despite the… underground part, and the climate… you guys seem to be…" she trailed off.

"Look, Puppo. That magic I was talking about before? The barrier? It was all done by humans. Humans can't use magic. Do you know how they did it?"

"How?" Frisk asked.

Sans inhaled deeply.

"There's this crystal. This crystal is infused with intense magic power. Back then, untouched, that magic was sealed inside. But to win the war and seal us away, the seven human mages each bore into the crystal, taking a small piece. They put these fragments into necklaces, rings, even a staff. With these magic infused shards, they were able to weird magic. But even all of their powers combined wasn't strong enough to make a barrier. So they drilled into the crystal and allowed its magic to pour out, and controlled this to create the barrier. This magic is centuries old. It's the reason the underground gets colder and colder. It's magic is still seeping from those cracks, even today. But it's effect isn't just limited to weather."

Sans gasped for breath, despite the lack of lungs.

Frisk giggled at this.

"Uh, you're making me work here, Snap pea. Anyways, the crystal is called many names, mostly the Wolf or the Howling stone. It's said that when you come close to it, you can hear the howling of wolves. The magic… it's affected nearly all souls in the underground. It doesn't corrupt them, it just provokes certain traits over time, certain behavior. Some resist it- Undyne- some are only a little affected by it- Papyrus. Some already Canine are given a power boost- The Captain of the Royal Guard. There's very few who are very, very affected by it, be it in way of soul, appearance, or power."

Frisk's ears pricked, and her heartbeat picked up.

 _Is it…_

Sans's expression shifted.

"Those people that resist it are called Sun-Bloods. They say their souls are too hot to be affected by the magic. Those other people, those intensely affected, are called Moon-Bloods. I know of three who exist, four if you count one that's dead."

Frisk leaned closer.

"Who?"

Sans blinked slowly.

"The first fallen human, who is now dead. The current King. Me. And you."

* * *

 **Oooooh, finally revealed!**

 **I like this chapter. I really, really liked the confrontation between Undyne and Sans! And that reveal I thought was so cool!**

 **Review!**

iluvfanfic:THIS FANFIC IS SO ORIGINAL. im not lying! nobody writes good stories like this! i liked the action scene tbh, and it could create a nice picture in my mind. I would also love a few sans-pov chapters too!

 **Hah, I'm glad you think so! I'm really worried about originality in terms of character design due to all the other AU's out there and the primary focus being on story and stuff. There isn't much Undertale Fanfiction to be honest, at least stuff that isn't lemons :/ careful on the Internet, kids. I'm so relieved you could picture the scene! I get clear images in my head, I just have issues putting them on paper. My main weakness is repeated words and phrases, in my opinion. I think that more diversity will come with experience, hopefully.**

 **Thank you so much for reviewing! It really lit up my day!**

 **Welp, I need to go work on some animations. Check out the comic if you want a peak at what happens when Frisk can't have coffee, review if you have time, and stay safe everyone! You're all beautiful and amazing, always remember that, regardless of what others tell you.**

 **Happy belated Halloween!**

 **From the Wolf in the mountains,**

 **Comycat~**


	14. Chapter 13- How could this happen to me?

**Wear heelies to escape your feelies.**

 **I am amazed with how much feedback I got last chapter. It really boosted my mood and helped me get through the day. Sincerely, thank you all!**

* * *

"What? _Me?"_ Frisk pointed at herself.

"Yes, you." Sans replied in an amused tone.

Frisk swallowed, eyes wide.

 _That… explains…_

"How do you know?" She asked quietly.

"I wasn't sure at first, as if the ears and tail aren't obvious. But the way you move sometimes, your increased sense. Hell, even the way your eyes glow." Sans playfully pointed at her eyes, which made her shrink back instinctively.

"…" Frisk was too stunned for words.

 _This is what I've been looking for… I wish you told me sooner, you lazy bag of bones._

Sans turned back to the cliff, staring out.

"I'm guessing you never expected for this kinda thing to happen… kinda like me, I guess."

Frisk's ear twitched.

"What about you? You don't have-"

"You don't have to have fur to be a Moon-Blood, Puppo. Remember, I said that it could affect one's soul, appearance, or just plain power. My side effects are more along the soul side, but I've still got some physical traits." Sans poked his own mouth, reminding her of the skeleton's more Canine teeth.

Frisk's mind was slowly putting everything together.

"Like… before, with Undyne. You started to growl."

Sans looked over at her, his eyes dimming for a split second.

"Yeah, true. I do it a lot." He yawned, stretching his arms.

"So…" Frisk swallowed. "Is there… a way to reverse this effect?"

Sans seemed surprised by this.

"I… I've got no clue about that, Snap Pea. But I've gotta ask, why? What's so bad about it?"

Frisk looked down.

"I'm scared… for… when I go back to the surface, you know? How will people see me then?"

Sans inhaled slowly.

"Look, Puppo. Having wolf in you is probably one of the most amazing things that could ever happen."

Sans leaned in closer, the lights in his eye sockets sparkling.

"When you think of a wolf, what do you see?"

Frisk thought for a moment, then shrugged.

"I dunno, a… wolf, I guess."

"Well, think about what a wolf is, and what you want to be. "

"…" Frisk stared at him blankly.

"What? Think about it."

"I'm sorry, I'm not… a wolfeboo, like you." Frisk muttered.

Sans clutched his chest.

"You hurt my feelings."

"Well, its true." She smirked.

"Okay, I like wolves, okay? Still doesn't mean you have to give me a _ruff_ time."

"I hate you." Frisk turned her back to him.

"If ya' hated me you would've dunked me in the river like Undyne. Not that you had the opportunity, I may like to sleep literally everywhere but I'm not gonna be sleeping on a river. I don't like to be _rushed_."

Frisk gave her tail an annoying flick, but forgot Sans was behind her and ended up smacking him in the face.

"Blllrfff, what the hell, puppo? Ya' got fur in my mouth."

Frisk started laughing.

"Guess this thing is useful."

She turned back towards him.

Cinnamon brown fur was sticking out of his mouth, and he didn't bother to wipe it off.

She pointed at it, and he stared at her dumbly before giving his face a lazy wipe.

"… guess you could say-"

"No. Stop."

Frisk turned back towards the cliff, wrapping her arms around her sides.

It was still pretty chilly, and the snow had gotten in her shoes, making her feet cold as hell.

She could feel Sans's eye sockets boring into the side of her head. She glanced off to the side, waiting for him to say something.

His grin had faded, and he seemed almost confused about something. Conflicted.

The second she noticed, it was gone.

"You seem kinda cold, Snap Pea. Do you wanna head back?"

Frisk shook her head.

"No! I don't want to cut your trip short Because you have illegal baggage following you."

Sans snorted at this.

"I'm fine, I sorta want to go back myself. Believe it or not, slippers are not meant for snow. My feet are freezing off here."

Frisk looked down at his large, pink, fluffy slippers. She was slightly confused by his feeling of cold, but she felt it had been brought up before.

She just wasn't in a very remembering mood at the moment. Probably because she didn't want to remember… other details.

"No, I don't think that was smart." She finally said.

Sans got up, hitting the snow off his shorts.

"Welp, I'm Headin home. If you wanna stay here and freeze, and probably snap your neck like a Ritz cracker, that's fine too." He grinned.

Frisk rolled her eyes and stood up as well, feeling her body shiver slightly.

"Knowing you, you probably dip your crackers in ketchup."

"It's good."

"…" she said no more.

Going down the hill was much more precarious that going up the hill, and multiple times Frisk grabbed on to whatever was closest for dear life as she nearly tumbled down. She didn't know if her legs were shaking from the cold or from almost falling a hundred times by the time they were done.

As soon as they got back to the skeletons house, Frisk collapsed in her blanket nest and fell asleep.

She dreamed of icy water.

…

"Sans! Save the cereal for the Human!"

"Bro, I never get up first. Her loss."

"The human had a very tiring day yesterday! Stop being so mean!"

"I'm not being mean."

"You're being unfair!"

"Life is unfair, bro."

"That doesn't mean you should be!"

Frisk groaned, rubbing her ears. They were hot to the touch

"What's unfair is that you guys woke me up." Frisk muttered to herself, pulling the blanket over her head.

"Someone's awake, which means it's fair and square." Sans said from in the kitchen.

"Sans, you are not acting like a good host _or_ gentleman! It should be ladies first!" Papyrus yelled.

 _Wow, first time that's been brought up down here._

Frisk found her tail bristling.

She didn't like the term "lady" for some reason.

"Okay, then by all means, go ahead bro." Sans chuckled.

Frisk snorted. _Burn._

"Sans, I'm not the girl! She is!" If Frisk's head was above the blanket, she was sure he'd be pointing at her.

 _You missed the point bub._

"Okay."

She heard the couch squeak and moan, which meant someone sat on it.

Frisk looked up, pushing the blanket away.

Sans was sitting with the last bowl of cereal and a wide grin.

"You're a jerk, you know." Frisk yawned.

Sans started eating, his eyes fixed on her in mocking."Thanks, I don't have to try."

Frisk shook her head.

"I don't really care, I just want coffee."

"Well, go get some."

"Uuuuuggghhhh."

Frisk forced her body to get up, despite its pleas to lay back down.

Her head was aching ever so slightly, and her torso more-so. Try saying that five times fast.

Why the hell didn't it hurt yesterday?

Frisk leaned her forehead on the microwave as the water heated up, eyes closed.

Papyrus was doing dishes rather… excitedly.

"Human! We are going to the store today and Sans said you're coming along!"

"I am?" Frisk asked.

"Yes! You didn't know?"

"No. I did not. I never _gave my consent_ to this expedition." Frisk scowled, shifting her gaze to the living room.

"Consent was not asked for nor needed, Snap Pea." Sans called from the other room.

"I hope that's not the case for some other… _activities_."

"Don't worry, no one is going to try to reproduce with you down here. It don't work like that."

"Sans! Inappropriate!" Papyrus scolded.

Frisk returned with her mug, the instant coffee mix dotting the side.

"Wait, so humans can't make babies with monster?" Frisk asked. "From the books I read-"

"Actually, some can. That's how us skeletons came along. But I doubt any monsters want to try that kind of thing with a human, because we've been separated for so long I don't think any believe there is any compatibility." Sans cut her off.

Frisk realized she may have put too much coffee mix in her cup.

Oh well. Caffeine.

"That's a relief." She said sarcastically.

"Well, until Frisk gets _Frisky_."

"… that's disgusting. No. I don't even know how that would work with… most of Monster kind."

Frisk shuddered.

"I think the worst to try to reproduce with would be Grillby. That'd hurt." Sans snickered.

"… yes, yes it would."

"You know he has a daughter?"

"No. That's weird."

"Yup. Guess he must be some real _hot stuff,_ ehh?"

Frisk closed her eyes.

"Sans, st _ooo_ p, I'm getting images in my head that don't need to be there. Please, mercy."

Sans let out a little laugh.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he's just as repulsed by you as you are by him. The same as just about rest of monster kind."

"…Thanks, you're very supportive." Frisk replied sarcastically.

"You're welcome."

Frisk turned over, and winced as her stomach started to hurt again.

She must have laid on it wrong.

Frisk put the coffee mug down and lifted the side of the sweater slightly to glance underneath.

There was hardly anything skin colored left, all consumed by black and blue and green.

She heard Sans shift on the couch, and dropped the fabric.

"That don't look too good there, puppo."

Frisk tensed.

"It's just a bruise."

"I don't know much about bruises. But I didn't know you had gotten hurt elsewhere."

"It didn't hurt yesterday, I think I just laid on it wrong last night. There's a lot of bruising, but it's not that bad."

Sans blinked.

"Anything broken?"

"No."

"Okay."

Sans turned back to his cereal, and she turned back to her coffee.

There was a loud shout of glee from the kitchen.

"YES, THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL! We will be there as soon as I can get Sans and th-uh, just get Sans up!"

There was a click followed by excited footsteps.

"Sans! Human! We need to go! Get ready!"

"Huh?" Sans didn't show any intent of moving.

"I didn't say I would go." Frisk added.

The slight downing of Papyrus's expression made her change her mind.

"Come on, human! Please! I have something very special planned!"

"… what?" Frisk was getting bad vibes.

"You'll see!"

Papyrus dashed out of the room, looking happier than a kid on Halloween.

"I don't think you've got a choice, Snap Pea." Sans snickered.

Frisk groaned and forced herself up, going up the stairs to the bathroom.

She felt like today was going to be a long day.

Apparently there was a super market hidden between Snowdin and the river.

They had to go along the same path Undyne had taken her in, and keep going till the mouth of a large cave was visible.

This was the entrance to waterfall.

They did not got here, however. They cut up and went across the river (using a rather dangerous looking bridge.) and kept going along a path till a large, yellow building was in sight.

For being so hidden, there were more monsters than Frisk had ever seen before.

She found herself unconsciously inching towards Sans.

"Hey, relax. As long as you don't tell no one you're human, or get seen by a royal guard member, You're fine."

"…royal guard?" Frisk echoed.

"Yeah. If you see anyone in armor, get away. You don't want to run in to one of them." His expression darkened for a moment.

Frisk swallowed hard, anxiety churning in her belly.

Sans lightened up.

"Hey, They never come here. You'll be fine. Come on, we'll lose Pap if we don't hurry it up."

Frisk nodded and followed the skeleton to the door.

They were extremely loud sliding doors, squealing as they slid open. It caused Frisk a minor amount of ear discomfort, and judging by Sans's flinch, he felt the same way.

Papyrus immediately started scanning the store as soon as they went in.

The orange tiles were shiny, but littered with footprints and melted snow. Signs hung above the different isles, displaying what those isles contained in a weird font. The carts looked exactly like what you would find at a local Wal-Mart, except with thick coverings on the handles and larger size. Many of them had claw marks etched deep into the thick blue covering.

Papyrus seemed to see what he was looking for, and he grabbed the closest cart and ran as fast as he could, his boots squeaking on the floor.

Sans shot her an amused glance and followed his hyperactive brother.

"Wonder what's got him all sugared up?"

"Isn't he always excited?" Frisk asked.

"True."

Papyrus had turned into an isle, and she heard a loud "HI!"

"Oh boy." She muttered, turning around into the isle.

A quick sight of eerily familiar blue skin made her freeze.

Sans stopped beside her.

"Uh oh."

Papyrus was eagerly talking to Undyne, who was currently wearing a gray tank-top with a sun symbol on it similar to the one on her other shirt, and a pair of ripped jeans.

Something flashed in Frisk's mind from the night before.

 _Sun-blood… seems like Sans is right._

Papyrus turned towards her.

"Oh, Undyne! Look who I brought along!"

Undyne's gaze shifted to her, and she looked just as displeased to see Frisk as Frisk was to see her.

Frisk whined and moved behind Sans. She could hear him let out an annoyed groan.

"…" Undyne's eye was twitching.

Frisk's muscles were as tense as they could get, and the tension in the air was crushing.

Papyrus looked between the two of them.

"Why don't you two put the past behind you and be friends! I believe you can do it!"

Undyne snarled, making Frisk cower and her tail to tuck between her legs.

"I. Will never. Be friends. With that THING. Just cause I won't kill it doesn't mean I like it. Now…"

Undyne turned to Papyrus.

"We gonna get this party started!? I'm starvin' and the sooner we get this done the faster I can inhale food."

Papyrus put his hands together excitedly.

"Yes, of course! I'm sure this shopping trip will bring us all closer."

Frisk glared at the fish.

 _I doubt it, I think it will just get me killed._

Sans stepped away from her.

Frisk realized her cover was gone and shot him an angry look.

"Hey, I've got things to do, soooo… seeya."

"Saaaans, please don't go…" Frisk whispered.

"Look, she ain't gonna hurt ya… mortally. Don't sit there and cower all the time, remember, you've got the soul of a wolf. Use it." With that, he shrugged and left.

Now the only thing between her and angry fish was Papyrus.

That was most certainly worrying.

Frisk could feel her soul being burned by Undyne's gaze.

Papyrus grabbed the cart excitedly and pushed it towards her.

"Human, you go around and find what you believe we need, in terms of your tastes! Undyne will be going with you!" Papyrus said.

Undyne's fins fanned out. "What?! I never said I-"

"Oh. I'm sorry human, my mistake. I thought she would be up to the challenge…"

The sudden change in Undyne's temperament snapped the air like a thunderbolt.

"Huh?! _Me?!_ Not up to a challenge?! NEVER! Fufufufufu… You, punk! You, me, we're gonna be BESTIES! After I'm done, NOTHING WILL GET BETWEEN US! THEN I'LL SHOW PAPYRUS HOW FREAKIN WRONG HE WAS!"

Undyne leaped forward and roughly threw her arm around Frisk's shoulders, leaving the poor girl to lean as far away as possible while simultaneously on the brink of a heart attack.

Papyrus grinned with glee.

"That's the spirit! I'll leave you two to it!" Papyrus began to run away, presumably to wherever Sans was.

Frisk was left to let out a dry sob as Papyrus disappeared from view.

Her last breaths drew near.

Frisk could feel the arm Undyne had around her arm tighten around her neck.

Frisk let out a nervous gasp, her green eyes shifting slowly to the fish beside her.

The first thing she saw were yellow fangs bared in her face.

"You. I can't believe I'm doing this. You're lucky I don't destroy you right here and now. Don't let it get to your head, punk, cause I could rip your little head off faster than you can piss yourself. You're just lucky that stupid trash skeleton and Papyrus like you for some reason."

Frisk didn't say anything.

Undyne glared at her, eye to eye, before letting her go.

"You are one of the most pathetic things I've ever seen. Seriously, maybe that's why they like you, they _pity_ you. Guess that fire you had during our fight goes out pretty fast, eh?"

Frisk's ear twitched at that.

Undyne grabbed the cart from her.

"Now, I've gotta show that bone-head who's boss, and what best way to become besties than SHOPPING!"

Frisk turned and began slowly walking away.

 _Maybe if I'm quiet she won't notice and I won't have to sit here and be tormented by-_

Undyne grabbed her by the shoulders, locking her in place.

"Where do you think you're going, _BESTIE?! Besties_ don't walk out on each other!"

If she wasn't in the middle of a store receiving very odd looks from passerby, she would probably break down crying.

" _I have an idea to make sure you don't get lost!"_ Undyne's voice was hot on her ear-fur.

Suddenly, she was tossed up into the air, the light a blur in the moments she hung there before plummeting into the cart.

She let out a small squeak as the metal dug into her back.

She didn't move, trembling.

 _What the hell!? She just threw me into the fucking cart!_

"Time to show these sissies how shopping is really done!"

Undyne grabbed the handles of the cart, looking like she had to go _fast_.

"No no no no no no no please no no no n-OH"

Frisk grabbed the edges of the cart for dear life as Undyne started sprinting with all of her might, and soon the shelves melted together in a swirl of speed.

They zoomed past an old lady monster, nearly knocking the poor thing over.

Frisk would say sorry if she weren't extremely scared for her own well-being.

Undyne made a sharp turn, the wheels squeaking on the floor.

"CARTS AREN'T MADE FOR THIS KIND OF MOVEMENT!" Frisk yelled.

"THAT'S THE BEST PART!" Undyne answered back, twice as loud.

 _Papyrus, you left me with a psychopath!_

They came to an abrupt stop in front of cereal.

Monsters had their own brands of cereal, very similar to some of the name humans brands. She personally liked Pillows, a cereal almost identical to the Life brand she used to eat on the surface.

And for some reason they had Corn Pops, with the same exact packaging and logo. How they received or knew about it, she didn't know.

Frisk tried to catch her breath and stop her shaking legs.

Undyne jumped in front of the cereal.

"ALRIGHT! Pretend these boxes of cereal are traitors, lined up for execution! They betrayed and hurt your kingdom, they killed your family! They took the lives of innocent monsters! How are you gonna put them in the cart?!"

Frisk blinked blankly at the over-excited fish.

"Ummm…" Frisk grabbed the nearest box of Pillows and placed it in the cart like any other normal, sane person would.

"NO! NOT LIKE THAT! LIKE THIS!"

Undyne grabbed a random box and slammed it it as hard as she could, making Frisk jump and her tail poof.

The box was mauled by the impact.

Frisk stared at the sad piece of cardboard.

A nearby monster ushered her kids towards her as she passed.

Undyne bent her knees and pointed at the box.

"THAT'S. How it's done!" Undyne gloated.

"You broke the box. The stuff inside is probably powder." Frisk deadpanned, grabbing another box of Pillows and placing it neatly beside the first.

"Whatever. It's still in the bag. NEXT!"

Undyne sped them to the meat section in the same manner.

"THIS. IS. MEAT."

Frisk blinked.

"Yes. Yes it is."

"IT'S THE MEAT OF YOUR WORST LIFE ENEMY!"

"You?" Frisk coughed. Luckily, the crazy monster didn't hear her.

"WHAT YOU GONNA DO TO IT!?"

"…"

"YOU'RE GONNA BEAT THE MEAT!" Undyne grabbed the closest steak and began punching it.

Frisk watched with a poker face.

 _How is she still allowed here?_

Undyne threw the mutilated steak in the cart and grabbed another one.

"You do it!"

"…no…"

"JUST DO IT OR I'LL WRING YOUR NECK!"

Frisk yelped and tapped the meat.

"HARDER! FEEL THE HATRED AND LET IT COME OUT OF YOUR FIST!"

Frisk tried again.

"TREAT IT LIKE YOU WOULD SAN'S PUNS!"

Frisk aggressively punched the steak and sent it flying across the aisle.

Undyne watched it.

"Whoops!"

She started to leave, and Frisk looked over her shoulder.

"Wait, you're going to leave it there?"

"LEAVE WHAT, I WAS NEVER THERE!"

Frisk watched as the depressing steak disappeared from view.

Undyne took her around the store in a spastic manner, being aggressive to any and all items put in the cart. She didn't ask Frisk if she wanted to go anywhere, so she had to make do with what they went past.

Frisk actually found herself joining in the abuse.

She felt pent up rage built up from the first ten seconds she had known Sans come free. All. Those. Puns!

Undyne took them to the abandoned hardware section for some random reason and started playing with the hammers. It was rather dark in this corner of the store, and there was no one around. The dust coating the shelves indicated this wasn't a one time occurrence.

Suddenly, there was a crackling of a staticky PA system.

"Notice to customers, please treat our store and it's contents with respect. Please do not run or misuse the carts. We have received several complaints about a blue fish and a… humanoid monster? Any further complaint will result in being kicked from the store. Thank you."

The system crackled again, signaling its ending.

Undyne and Frisk exchanged glances.

"… Uh oh."

"Uh oh? That's all you have to say?" Frisk replied bitterly.

The annoyed look on Undyne's face made Frisk recoil slightly.

"Well, guess this is done. What's next, Sleepovers? Friendship bracelets? Bead necklaces? Huh?" Her tone was mocking.

Frisk's ears flattened at her tone.

"I never asked to do this with you. So I don't think any of that would be very enjoyable either."

"Oh, screw it! This isn't working, and it ain't ever gonna work! Some people just don't get along." Undyne huffed.

Frisk threw her hands out, getting out of the cart.

"Finally, someone gets it!"

"Saaame… but wait… if we can't be friends… and we're alone over here…"

Frisk took a step back at the increasing danger on Undyne's face.

"That means I can beat the hell out of you and no one will know!"

Frisk took a few more frantic steps back, her feet sliding on the floor.

Undyne took a single step towards her, lip curled.

"You really are a pathetic coward. Do you know how much I hate that?! Oh, and your little angel act, don't get me started! Not hurting anyone, helping everyone, blah blah blah. The reason You're neither dead nor guilty? You put yourself first. You _run._ Heh, just like that damn skeleton, huh?"

Frisk's body froze.

Undyne's words were eerily familiar to Flowey's, when he said the same thing.

And it turned her blood to ice.

Maybe it was the vigorous shopping, maybe to coffee. Maybe her own annoyance.

But Frisk forced her ears forwards and _snarled._

"I guess we _both_ have dishonorable drives, _huh?_ "

Undyne looked surprised.

"Wow, You're actually growing a pair? That's nice. Makes me feel even more obliged to beat the crap out of you."

Frisk's green eyes glittered dangerously in the shadowy lighting.

"You know what will happen if you do that. So _Back. Off!_ " Frisk's voice was a low growl.

Undyne curled her hands into fists.

" _Try me._ I could care less! You little _punk!"_

Undyne jumped forward, arm pulled back.

" _You've got the soul of a wolf. Use it."_

Frisk bent her legs slightly, gathering as much strength in them as she could and then leaped, pulling back her arm.

The next few moments went by so fast they seemed to all happen at once.

She connected a hit as Undyne's fist connected with her face, and the next moment she was skidding across the floor.

Frisk righted herself as quickly as possible, feeling the horrible sensation of nose pain. She could feel something hot dripping down her face.

It wasn't excruciating, however. She expected much worse.

She had been hit by Undyne at full force before, and she knew that was not full force.

Frisk grabbed her bleeding nose and stared at Undyne thoughtfully.

Frisk wasn't strong at all, and even the added momentum of her leap didn't seem to do much damage… not enough damage, actually

Undyne touched her jaw where Frisk hit, glaring at her.

"You little… punk…" Undyne sounded deep in thought as well.

Frisk's eyes narrowed.

 _Something's wrong… I hesitated, and she did too. Was it from surprise? She expected me to run, didn't she…_

After a few breaths, Undyne slammed the ground with her fist, cracking the tiles.

"Dammit! You could've done a ton better, punk!"

"So could you." Frisk replied with a guarded tone.

"It seems like that sap Papyrus is right after all." Undyne got up.

"Guess we really can't be enemies, huh? You just don't do good with enemies, do you?"

Frisk didn't answer.

"You hate my guts. You actually grew a pair and faced me. I admit, that had to take some real nuts. But even after that, you're still hesitant to hurt me."

Undyne looked away and scratched the back of her head.

"I guess some humans aren't that bad…"

Frisk used the wall to pull herself up, her torso and face aching.

"I guess you aren't the Satan of all monsters…" Frisk said awkwardly.

Undyne burst out laughing.

"Don't count on it, punk, I'd still cream you!"

Just then, a set of loud footsteps approached.

Papyrus and Sans came into the isle.

"Oh, Undyne, Human, there you are! We were loo- HOLY EBOTT, WHAT HAPPENED!"

Papyrus put his hand to his mouth, eyes wide.

Frisk and Undyne stayed silent, Undyne holding her jaw and Frisk holding her bloody nose.

Sans's grin actually faded for once, leaving him looking very un-happy.

When the grin went away, you knew it wasn't a good situation.

"Undyne! Human! Did you two get in a fight?!" Papyrus asked, putting his hands on his hips.

Undyne looked at Frisk expectantly.

Frisk sighed. She was tired. So tired.

"Fine, it comes to my attention that we may have had an uncivil disagreement due to the stark differences in our persons and characteristics that fueled the desire to physically dismember the other person, and we may have irrationally acted on this desire and slightly inflicted harm of minimal degree. This matter has been resolved as of the current questioning."

She felt all three pairs of eyes on her.

Papyrus was looking at her with a dull expression, Sans looked very amused, and Undyne looked disturbed.

"Uh, Puppo, I think you are reading too many books." Sans said.

Frisk put her hands together and inhaled.

"You require me to activate my lungs to take in a certain amount of air more than that is normally required of the respiratory system at this level of activity. You inflict discomfort onto my emotional state by saying that I analyze and process too many books into my person. I disagree with this statement, and passively-aggressively extend to you a request of silence of your person, for the safety of future events."

Sans put his hand to his face and burst out in hysterical laughter, snorting in between breaths.

"Human, what are you talking about?" Papyrus asked.

"I am conversing about the subjects brought to my attention by you and the person beside you who is genetically attached to your being." Frisk couldn't help but laugh now as well.

No one else got the joke.

Sans walked over, one hand over his torso and another holding a basket containing a couple bottles of ketchup.

"Ah-alright Snap Pea, grab whatever in that cart is yours and put it in here." He held up the basket. "Then you're coming with me real quick. Oh, and your nose isn't broken or something, right?"

Sans's amusement faded slightly.

Frisk shook her head.

"No, it's not even that bad, it's just bloody. I do hate how getting hit in the nose feels, though."

Frisk pulled her hand away, and it was covered in blood. Her nose had stopped bleeding, though.

She whipped the blood off with her sleeve, the only available thing at the moment.

 _I probably look like a wreck now…_

Sans's eyes were scanning her face.

"I wouldn't know, I don't exactly have a nose. Or, to put it in verbose terms: I lack the appendage homo sapian posses on their uppermost portion known as a nose."

Frisk let out a few chuckles.

Papyrus threw his arms up. "NYEH, WHY DO YOU GUYS KEEP TALKING LIKE THAT!?"

Undyne looked at them with an indescribable expression.

"Just… leave, both of you."

Frisk grabbed her cereal and cheese puffs from the cart and put them in Sans's basket.

"Alright, lets go. Papyrus is going to check out right now and then go calibrate his puzzles."

Frisk blinked in response and followed the skeleton.

Once they had gotten a safe distance away, Frisk exhaled in relief.

"Oh my god I'm never doing that again. How could you put me through that?"

Sans looked over at her.

"I didn't think it would go that poorly."

"She was punching a random steak repeatedly."

"Welp, that's Undyne."

Sans was leading her to a section of the store Undyne hadn't went too, the clothing section.

Frisk glanced around at the… colorful selection of clothing.

"Umm, why are we here?"

"You need a coat, do you not? Papyrus keeps on raving about how your gonna freeze to death." Sans replied.

Frisk looked away.

"I… coats are expensive, and I already take up enough of your time an-"

"What have I told you about being like that? Stap. I honestly don't care, and coats are pretty cheap down here. We actually have a lot saved up since the puzzles were installed."

"Then why do you have a tab than Undyne's ego?

"I'm too lazy to bring money with me. But I'm not kidding, I got a couple jobs to get enough to pay for all those puzzles in Snowdin for Paps, but we already did all that. So we can deal with a pet human."

"Pet human?"

"Yup. You're like our pet human now."

Frisk played with the hem of her shirt.

"Sans… you know I can't be down here forever, right? I can't stay at your house forever, either… I'm going to have to leave sometime and keep going."

Sans looked straight ahead.

"Yeah, I know that. I just don't want Papyrus to know that. But I'll tell you what, whenever your ready to leave and go onto waterfall, let me know."

Frisk made eye contact with him, and kept it.

"Sans... thanks…" She forced out.

Sans shrugged.

"Eh, no biggie. But if your planning on leavin' you really need a coat. So, pick one."

…

Frisk had- after some confusion between coat shapes- found a rather fluffy purple coat with the softest white fur puffing around the hood and lining the inside. They all had tons of fur, as did a lot of the other clothes. Upon questioning, Sans explained it was all created in a lab, but used a method that made it just like real fur.

She ended up smelling coffee and wandering over to the coffee section for awhile before remembering Sans existed and returned to find him in the same exact spot.

She was happy with her coat, though, and used it as a blanket when they returned home.

She and Sans shared the cheese puffs that night while watching some weird anime about a bald guy who could kill everything with one punch.

She eventually compared the bald guy with Sans and ended up with cheese dust all over her new coat.

Needless to say, Sans wouldn't like what he found in his ketchup bottles next morning.

* * *

 **It really sucks when someone else has the same name as you, but they are better at everything. They are the pretty one and everyone likes them. They are always praised and for a moment I think "are they talking about me?" But then I realize it's not me and it never will be, and it really kinda hurts.**

 **Anyways, enough about me, no one wants to hear about me! Time to go over the plethora of reviews we got! I'm so excited :D**

 **NOTE: information in these sections are now wrong. Outdated. I've changed and developed the lore a lot. Message me if you'd like an explanation!**

Kitlith: I find it weird that they have names for these groups of people, even though there's only every been three known at this point. Maybe that's whyvthey were given a label *shrugs*

Other than that, this looks fantastic, and I look forward to seeing more!

 **I already answered you via PM, (I rarely answer in PM but I just happened to be on so why naught) but I thought I'd 're answer' in case anyone else had the same thoughts.**

 **For Sun-Bloods, there are more than just Undyne. They are usually fire-based monsters or just random monsters with a resistance to the magic. Many of these monsters are unsuitable for the environment and their numbers have been dropping, but they still hold on.**

 **As for Moon-Bloods, Sans used a very specific word. "I know." Which means really, in theory, there could be more, but why there are so few I will cover in a later chapter.**

 **One of the main reasons they have their own category is one: the nature of their reaction is so great and two: the current King, a very important individual, Is a Moon-Blood. Another important individual was the first fallen human, aka Chara. I hope this cleared it up some!**

 **I'm so glad you enjoy this, and I hope I continue to entertain!**

Me Myself and I:I appreciated the authors note at the beginning of this chapter.

Relatable.

 **Hello fellow mammal, I'm glad you enjoyed.**

Me Myself and I:I really enjoy it so far as it is written, nothing feels odd and it actually makes a lot of sense, (super important, I get headaches easily XD) and the pacing is just a little slow at some parts but it's really kinda a relief. Like a breather of sorts.

And all if this written on a tablet, that takes a lot of talent.

I admit I didn't think I'd like the story at first, seriously Frisk has a tail and wolf ears, but I was pleasantly surprised to be reading something really different and original. But not so different that "Undertale Logic" can't be applied. :D

Perhaps I'm rambling. Anyways, I like it. Good story, but uh, the rather crude jokes... Well... maybe once or twice. After that it's just creepy.

Not that I didn't have a good laugh! ;D

Bookmarked to eagerly read your next chapter!

 **Hello again! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Don't worry, I get headaches easy too. Migraines. They suck :/**

 **I think one of the biggest flaws of this is the pacing, I know it's an issue but I have yet to make it better XD I think now that I've gotten the initial Frisk-Sans intro out of the way and the Snowdin arc over (yup, it's officially over guys. Finally.) it should get better. Less filler, more events.**

 **Yeah, Frisky does have a Wolfy tail and ears. I think that's a big turn off for some people simply Because of furries. I'm glad you got past that :D I tried really hard to make it an AU with more of a story to it similar to Undertale, but with added plots and a new lead character (her names Frisk but let's all admit she ain't the same Frisk we know.)**

 **I ramble too (y'all know this by now XD) so no worries m8. Sorry about the crude jokes… I've got a bit of a dirty humor, as you may know… I'll try to tone it down (the really bad consent and reproduction jokes in this chapter don't help, do they? Lol).**

 **I'm so happy you enjoyed and I'm looking forward to seeing you again!**

Iluvfanfic: YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS I LOVE THISSS THERES LONGER CHAPTERS! (pls dont ship sans x frisk yet tho) How will paps react to the fact humans have bones? Does Frisky frisk frisk have a completely wolfie form? (Hopefully yes) and lastly, I LOVE THIS FIC!

 **Hello fan :3 I feared that people would take their 'friendship' the wrong way, but worry not, they are not being shipped (yet) the thing is, I wanted to make this story mostly shipping free, but as things went on Sans and Frisk just kept on inching closer and closer even though I said "NOH, DON'T DO DAT!" Lol XD**

 **I will take your suggestion and use it in the near future! It will certainly be… interesting! And we all know Sans is going to make a bone joke, we all see it coming. Tsk tsk, Sans.**

 **Omg I love that name XD Frisky Frisk Frisk. We all shall call her that from now on (or just us, lol) as for a wolf form, I can't exactly answer that (yet, spoilers.) It won't be what your expecting, but remember Sans said " Wolf Soul."**

 **If you just want to see (and probably spoil, but it is a nice treat) what I have in mind you can look at the Howlingtale comic called "Too early" over on my deviant art (Comycatdarkangel).**

iluvfanfic:Im probably spamming you by now... hehe, but I wanted to say one more thing, This is one of my fav stories in FFN.

 **No problem, m8. Hey, I know the feeling ;3**

 **I am very honored to be your favorite Fanfiction, actually very surprised :D hopefully I continue to be!**

 **Looking forward to seeing you again!**

threeisaparty:I wonder, will frisky frisk frisk get her period? Oh if she does those cramps will be horrendous. XD.

 **There it is again XD Frisky Frisk Frisk! I was wondering about playing around with that just for the sake of realism, but I am worried about people getting uncomfortable.**

 **And yes, those cramps will be terrible XD they always are!**

 **Thanks for reviewing, and I look forward to seeing you again!**

 **Whew, I'm not used to going through that many reviews, ever! This now has more reviews than Fire and Ice, my old Naruto Fanfiction (actually, Ht Frisk has a lot of inspiration from Ice, that stories protagonist. Both have the wolf ear tail thing… and have similar social issues, but I think it ends there.)**

 **Let's see if we can get to 50 reviews! Obviously not on this chapter (lol nope) but when we get to 50, I will do a HT Ask for Sans and Frisk! I would probably do it anyways (I'm not the kinda person who says "x reviews or no new chapter!" Or something of the like) but I just don't have the time or motivation right now, and I need to know that the AU has gained a decent following. I was also thinking of holding a Fanart contest on deviantart in the near future, idk.**

 **That. Was a very long end note. I'm not complaining:3 be safe everyone, and remember to stay determined!**

 **From the wolf in the mountains,**

 **Comycat~**


	15. Chapter 14- In love with a fairytale

Over the next few days, Frisk began teasing with the idea of continuing on east. She didn't want to leave poor Papyrus… and she really enjoyed living with the skeleton brothers. But there was nothing more to do at the library, she had been in the town for a decent while now and seen everything, and most of all she felt like a burden to the brothers.

One of her main concerns was food and a place to stay at night. Upon further studying she found Waterfall, the next area, was deep within marsh caves, so finding a place of shelter might not be as hard as she thought.

She actually looked forward to seeing what was described as brilliant frozen masterpieces of water, looking as if they could move again at any moment.

Sans had caught her reading up about Waterfall.

She felt his presence over her shoulder for several minutes, but didn't bother to acknowledge it.

"…Looks like you're getting' ready to leave soon, Puppo."

Frisk cringed ever so slightly.

"… I've been… playing around with the thought…"

Sans rested his arms on the edge of the couch.

"Hey, its fine. Remember I said to let me know? If you want, I could take you there tomorrow just for a look-see. I've got sentry duty there." Sans said.

"Huh? I don't want to leave tomorrow!"

"Not leave, just look around. I go about halfway in for my station, so you get to look around that much of it."

Frisk looked down at the couch cushion.

"I don't know… I guess."

Sans pulled a juice box out of his pocket and broke the little straw off, taking it out of its wrapper. He threw the little wrapper on the floor, a pet peeve of Papyrus's. She was 90% positive he did it just to mess with the tall skeleton.

"Good. Besides, I wanna keep a loose eye on you anyways. The captain of the Royal guard likes to patrol around there a lot, and he's the last guy you wanna run into."

Frisk scratched behind her ear.

"Who is he, anyways?"

Sans took a sip from his juice. He looked away, almost guilty. Did he have some past with the captain?

"A dog. Names Dogamy. He uses this huge axe, and he hates humans like the plague. 'Cause his wife was killed by one of 'em."

Frisk's ears lowered.

"Oh… I don't know if I should feel sorry or be twice as scared…"

"Naw, Waterfall is pretty big. I doubt you'll run into him. Oh, and I've got a good friend who lives there. I'm sure she'd be happy to see you…" Sans trailed off, seemingly in deep thought. He grinned.

"Happy to see me? Do I know her?" Frisk asked.

The grin on his face didn't fade, but the lights in his eyes flickered.

"No, but you should be thankful for her."

Sans turned away before Frisk could ask more.

 _What was that about?_

…

It took them twenty straight minutes to convince Papyrus Frisk wasn't leaving for good and wasn't even leaving at all at this particular moment.

The second Sans said he'd take Frisk to Waterfall he burst out in tears.

Frisk felt like the scum of the earth knowing she made Papyrus cry.

Eventually he calmed down, and they watched some tv show with a metal robot with leopard ears.

Frisk got up from the floor to grab her bag, and failed to see Papyrus's leg.

She ended up tripping over it high school style and planted her face into the floor.

She didn't move an inch after falling.

 _Hello carpet my old friend, I've come to talk with you again._ She sang silently.

"HUMAN!? ARE YOU ALRIGHT IM SO SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT YOU OH NO SANS THEY AREN'T MOVING WHAT IF I KILLED THEM OR HURT THEM REALLY BAD SANS WHAT DO WE DO!?"

"Calm down Paps. Got any broken bones, Pea?"

"Nhhhhhhhhhhhho" Frisk groaned, her voice muffled by the carpet.

"WHAT?! HUMANS HAVE BONES?!"

"Yup."

"OH MY GOD! THAT'S ABSURD! NEXT YOU'LL BE TELLING ME THEY HAVE SKELETONS INSIDE THEM, OR WE SHOW UP IN TEXTBOOKS!"

Sans burst out in hysterical laughter, while Frisk just considered the scope of what he just said.

"SANS, WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?"

"Nothin, bro." Sans snorted.

She sat up, looking back at Papyrus.

He had his bulging eyes again.

 _I'm not even gonna start._

Sans eventually found his broken dignity and calmed down.

"Alright, alright, Frisk, I'm assuming you want to leave early?" He had the 'I just made an inappropriate joke' look on his face.

"…yes. And don't think about it. I know that look." Frisk glared at him.

"Fiiiine. Just get ready." Sans plopped back down on the couch.

Frisk grabbed her now clean sweater from the laundry- it still had a small rip in the sleeve but Sans was magic when it came to stains- and happily put on her new, fluffy coat.

She didn't zip it up, though, because it was a little tight, and although she could deal with it if very cold she didn't feel like it at the moment.

She also dug out the gloves she got a while back. She hadn't used them much since purchase- they got thrown in with Sans's socks and the rest is self explanatory.

Sans was at the door when she came back downstairs.

He bothered to put on sneakers. They were untied, though.

"At least you made a little bit of an effort." She muttered.

"Thanks, I'm very proud of myself." Sans replied.

"I very much appreciate your sarcasm."

"So do I."

"Be safe, Human!" Papyrus called as they left.

The cold bit her face at first, but she quickly adapted to the temperature.

She had grown a hell of a lot more tolerant to the cold since coming here.

Sans lead the way, trailing through the snow. He was oddly quiet, but she didn't try to break it.

As they walked, they took the same path that ran by the river. She slowed down as a familiar yellow star came into view.

Every time she touched one, she felt a rise of determination. She felt an energy… and when she died, she went back to the most recent star.

She had died twice, yet she was not dead.

The stars SAVED her somehow.

As they passed it, she gave it a light touch. The energy surge caught her off guard, but it felt good.

She was going to Waterfall.

They came to the place where the path branched off to the bridge across the river, but they kept going this time, to the cave. As they came closer, Frisk could see tiny specks of glowing blue from within its shadowy mouth.

Also inside was a lack of snow. Instead, the ground was a deep blue-purple.

Sans paused at the entrance.

"You ready, Snap Pea?"

Frisk nodded.

She felt a little light being somewhere she had never been before, but she tried to bury her fear.

"Watch your step around here, it's pretty darn icy. Especially downhill, like here."

Sans turned himself sideways and started making his way down the entrance to the cave rather slowly.

The second the snow disappeared, she realized why.

The ground was frozen marsh ground, and a thin layer of ice blanketed the soil. It was hard to see, besides the occasional shine or glimmer.

Frisk tried mimicking Sans's position. She still felt terribly unbalanced.

Suddenly, in a mere heartbeat, her feet slipped.

She couldn't keep in the squeak that slipped out her throat. Her heart jumped and her body fell.

She rolled down the rest of the hill, the gritty floor not helping to make her ride pleasurable.

"Heh, do a barrel roll!" Sans laughed from above. He made his way down beside her with smooth skill.

"Ooowww, you're a jerk." Frisk hissed from the ground.

Sans rolled his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, you ok? I told you to watch your step."

Frisk sat up, her ears held slightly back.

"How can I watch my step on solid ice?" She growled.

Sans put his hands up.

"Jeez, someone's cranky. Look, it takes some getting used to, I'm sure you'll get it. You should've seen Papyrus the first time he came down here. He was young then, fell down and cried for ten minutes straight until I got him Nice Cocoa."

Sans stopped talking, and he looked intrigued about something.

"What?" Frisk asked.

Sans randomly bent down and put his face in front of hers, his eyes fixed on something.

Frisk jumped.

"What the hell, Sans!"

Sans raised his hand and pointed at her face.

"Ya'know, when you're mad your eyes get darker. That's pretty freaky, Snap Pea."

Frisk narrowed her eyes.

Sans stood back up again.

"There's a reason I call ya snap pea. Cm'on."

Frisk huffed and got up, being extra careful on the slippery ground.

The cave was very bright, with various glowing blue stones were lodged in the walls. They cast a soft, calming light over the sides and floor. It was quiet and peaceful, though admittedly very chilly.

Once she got past the frozen ground, she sort of liked this place.

The river ran along the path for awhile, before turning away. They reached a clearing where a few monsters were gathered, one of which was the familiar blue armless monster from Snowdin.

A sentry station was set up in the corner.

Sans went over to it.

"I thought you said you had to go halfway in?" Frisk said.

"I've got two stations here. This is the first one, the next one is further in." Sans replied, sitting down.

"Oh. How many sentry stations do you have?"

"A lot. You can go ahead if you want, just stick to the main path and don't get lost. It's easy to lose your way and freeze to death if you don't stay on trail. But you'll be fine. I'm sure you want to see the frozen waterfalls and the echo flowers."

Her gaze travelled over to the path, which continued onwards through the cave. The walls closed in around it, enshrouding it in sharp patches of dark.

She shifted between the path and Sans's eyes, before he made a shooing motion.

She nervously went onward.

She was still determined.

The path was darker, but much flatter. She still knew to be careful- the ground was rough enough to not be slippery but there were patches where the ground was deceiving.

The little blue stones looked beautiful, and she had an urge to obtain one. She decided not to for the time being.

There was another yellow star. It lit up the wall around it.

There was a little mouse hole under the star.

She touched it, ready for the surge it gave.

She then pushed it to the back of her mind and continued.

The path opened up again.

It ran in front of a giant, frozen Waterfall. The water had frozen in place, the surface full of little ripples and rushes like the most intricate art. The lights from the stones lit the shiny surface of the ice, casting an almost rainbow glow across it.

Frisk stopped as she reached it, gazing at the magnificent structure in front of her. The lights would shine a different way when she moved, and the ice had the most fantastic sparkle.

 _It's so… pretty…_

Frisk took it all in for awhile, her tail swaying back and forth lightly. Then she carefully padded onwards, not able to take her eyes off the Waterfall as she did so.

She could hear the faintest sound of muffled rushing water, lost deep within the ice.

Then the Waterfall faded from view as the path grew larger, and so did the sound.

Everything was completely silent, peaceful. Not a single thing moved.

Until she heard a faint whisper.

Frisk's ears pricked up and she looked around, a little unnerved.

She caught sight of a large, glowing blue flower of the same color as the stones in the walls. It stood up tall, soft rounded petals spread wide. The sound was coming from the flower.

 _Is that an… echo flower?_

Frisk slowly approached, kneeling beside the flower.

The ground around the plant was frozen, and frost clung to its stem.

 _It's amazing it can live here._

It seemed the flower was echoing a passing conversation.

The voices were warped and unrecognizable, but one sounded male and the other female.

"What does a skeleton tile her roofs with? Shingles!"

"Hahah… heh, knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Dishes."

"Dishes who?"

"Dish-is a very bad joke."

"Hahahahah! Nice one, my dear! Oh, I've got another one…"

The voices faded off.

Frisk was unamused.

 _Does everyone down here have an obsession with bad jokes!?_

Frisk's question prompted thought.

 _Wait, they said skeleton… but that was a female. Was Sans maybe the guy? No, I don't think so… unless… that's the friend he was talking about having in Waterfall. Oh boy…._

Frisk shook her head and stood up, putting her gloved hands in her pockets.

There were many darker pathways that lead off the main path, but she ignored them.

She listened to Sans's advice and stayed on the main path.

The river cut back into the cave, the frozen surface reflecting the light of the stones. It swiviled along the rocky walls and ground.

There were a few more echo flowers dotting the shore.

They echoed different conversations of various types. There was one particularly aggressive voice at times that seemed to be picking on other monsters. She spent a while listening to the flowers and exploring.

Frisk was beginning to feel a little lonely. She was used to the company of the skeleton brothers.

She shook herself.

She was going to be going off on her own again soon, she needed to get used to it again.

The last flower was only what sounded like heavy footsteps. It sent a chill down her spine.

The next part had ridiculously tall grass that went far over her head. It blocked the path, and cast thin shadows over her.

Frisk scowled as she realized she had to walk through it.

As she pushed it aside, the hair raised on the back of her neck. Her tail puffed up on its own.

Her body tensed for a moment, but she forced herself to brush it off.

 _It's just the frost._

She pushed through the grass, and growled every time it ticked one of her ears.

A curse of having wolf ears with very sensitive ear fur.

As she came out, she noticed the path ahead got much darker, shrouded in shadow.

The icy ground had small cracks in it, like something heavy was slammed into it.

Frisk swallowed, her determination fading.

 _Is there someone here? No, there can't be… I haven't seen a single person past Sans._

She felt a tickling sensation like she was forgetting something vitally important.

She kept going.

 _I'll go for a little longer, then turn back. It'll be fine._

She entered a large, dark room.

As she did, something clicked.

Any light present disappeared without warning.

Frisk stopped moving, eyes going wide.

 _W-w-what… oh no…_

There was a deep, gravely growl from deep in the darkness.

Frisk tried to around, but she ran into _somebody._

 _Oh my god._

She looked at the person, though she could see nothing in the dark.

Something flashed.

"You… human… you will pay for your sins!" The deepest voice she had ever heard grumbled now, filling her with fear.

"W-wait, I didn't do anything! Ple-"

She heard the shuffle of fabric, and a clang. She tried moving backwards…

There was another flash, and blazing pain across her torso. Her world heaved.

She screeched as loud as she could, still moving back but keeping her feet.

The lights came back.

In front of her stood a tall, stocky dog monster.

He was wearing a black hoodie, with armored knuckles. His boots were heavy and the bottoms were made out of what seemed to be metal.

The hood of his hoodie was up, but terribly torn. His fur was glowing white, smooth. His left ear had a tear in it. He had a small black mustache under his nose.

He held a battle axe in his huge paws, the handle made out of a smooth wood and the blade covered in deep scratches. The edge was red with her blood.

Frisk looked down.

The axe had made a deep, horrific slash in her torso, from one side to another. She could see the whiteness of ribs leaking through. Blood gushed from the wound, and she instantly felt dizzy.

Frisk gasped and tried putting her arm over it. Nausea rolled up her throat.

 _Oh my god… oh my god, that can't be fixed… no…_

It was hard to breathe.

The dog growled.

"You only prolonged your own suffering. You will die."

Frisk couldn't stop shaking.

She spotted a switch on the wall behind him.

 _I need to get away, I need to get away… if I can just… I'll_

Frisk let herself fall to the ground, crying out in pain.

She heard the footsteps of the dog approaching.

She stayed still until she he stopped.

She pushed her free hand into the frozen dirt and pushed with all the strength she had left, going between the dogs legs and behind him.

The dog let out a bark.

"Get back here, you l-"

She slammed the switch.

The lights turned off.

Frisk began running- rather, jogging- as fast as she could. Her bag was gone, but she didn't care.

It hurt so bad.

She heard another bark, but she didn't stop.

She couldn't stop…

The world was churning, just like her stomach.

She couldn't focus her eyes on anything, and black dots invaded her vision.

She heard a distant yell from ahead of her, and her ears pricked. They felt like they were stuffed full of cotton.

Her foot slipped in a sudden motion, and she went crashing down.

She couldn't get up again.

She let out a long, pained whimper.

She cried out for help with the last of her strength, the force hurting her that much more.

Everything was silent for a moment. Or for a long time. She couldn't tell.

Then she saw a familiar face a little ways away.

 _S… Sans?_ Her head was fuzzy, swimming.

Sans caught sight of her and started sprinting towards her, eye sockets wide and dark.

She didn't move. She coughed, tasting blood.

 _Help… me…_

"Frisk! Frisk, what happened! Cm' ere."

Sans reached her and bent down. Frisk focused on trying to keep breathing.

It was getting so hard.

She could feel warm hands shaking her slightly, then turning her over.

She cried out lightly, but she didn't have the strength to do much else. She tried to swallow but the thick blood caught in her throat kept her from doing so. She reflexively coughed, sending more up into her mouth as she began choking on it.

Sans flinched.

He started to try to press something to her wound, but Frisk felt detached.

His eye sockets were pitch black.

"Come on Frisk. Come on, don't die… I made a promise to keep you alive! I spent all this time keeping you alive for her!"

His voice was seeming farther away… but something stood out to her.

 _Promise? To keep me alive?_

It clicked.

 _He… he's not… he doesn't really…_

She could no longer form thoughts. Everything was fading.

Something flashed on Sans's face, as if he realized what he said.

"No! It's not just that, please, don't! It's not just that, it's not just that, please, _please! I'm sorry!_ "

She couldn't make out his words or understand him.

Everything faded to black.

She couldn't hear anything anymore.

At least she couldn't feel the pain.

It was actually… almost peaceful, warm.

Then she was falling all the same.

She realized something, but couldn't form it in the blackness.

The yellow came back.

She was back beside the yellow star she last touched.

She stumbled back, grabbing at her chest. It still hurt, but she knew it was no longer there. Her coat slid off her shoulders from the sudden movement and her bag slid off her shoulder as well.

It all came back.

 _This star… it saved me again… does that mean I can't die? But… wait…_

She stayed still, still holding her chest. Her eyes were unfocused.

 _Sans… said… he said he had to keep me alive because of a promise… what did he mean by that? Was he only trying… because of that?_

Thorns pierced her heart.

Time seemed to freeze, or maybe go too fast for her to comprehend.

She heard running footsteps, though very light.

She recognized them.

She stood up, feeling… cold.

Sans showed up, looking distressed.

Frisk was confused for a moment.

 _Why does he look… like that? No one ever remembers… right?_

Sans stopped in front of her, panting slightly.

"H-hey…"

Her eyes narrowed.

"Sans… what are you doing here?"

He recoiled slightly. An uneasy grin came onto his face.

"Oh, I'm just… checking up on you. Had a bad feeling, and-"

The cold spread.

"Not because of some 'promise' to keep me alive?" She snarled bitterly.

Sans froze, the lights in his eyes going dead out. His uneasy grin disappeared.

Frisk felt like she made a huge, huge mistake.

His head tilted slowly to the side.

"So… mind telling me… where you heard that?"

Frisk took a step back, this change scaring her.

"I… I just…"

Sans took a step forward.

"Or rather… should I say… when?"

His left eye socket blazed to life, a brilliant flame of blue and green.

Frisk stumbled back, eyes wide.

"You really are the anomaly, huh?"

Sans took another step forward.

Frisk felt desperate.

"W-what do y-you m-mean? A-anomaly?"

Sans looked extremely dangerous. He bared his fangs, a savage rumble ripping up from his chest.

"Anomaly. You just died. Then you turned back time, RESET. I thought you were it at first, but I tried to believe it wasn't you. I was _dead_ wrong."

There was a strong crackling, and a burst of blue.

Two giant skull creatures materialized behind Sans.

They resembled Canine skulls, with huge, sharp fangs. Their skulls formed spikes at the top, and their empty eyes were lit by two blue pupils similar to Sans's left eye.

Blue flames danced from their mouths, curling around the sharp curves of their teeth and skulls.

Fog burst forth from their mouths and noses.

Frisk yelped and scrambled backwards, bumping against the wall.

Her heart slammed against her chest.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

Sans took another few steps forward.

"Heh, like I haven't heard that. Don't worry, as pissed as I am, I can't kill you. That promise you were just talking about? That's why." Sans growled. The skulls disappeared.

Frisk put her arms up to her face, quaking violently.

"That friend I was talking about, who lives here? She made me make that promise. I hate making promises, but she asked me… "please, the next human to come through the door… protect them, guide them. Keep them safe from this cruel world." And I said yes. You should really be thanking her, _anomaly._ If it weren't for that promise, you would've been dead a long time ago. I would have sunk my teeth into your throat the first moment I met you. "

Frisk froze.

"… you promised that?"

"Yeah." Sans snarled. "I don't know why but I did. And I _regret_ every moment of it." He froze. His expression loosened a little.

A surge of pain hit Frisk's chest.

"So… you weren't actually scared for me back then… you didn't really care if I died… it was all a _promise."_

Sans flinched, his expression changing even more. Widening. He was trembling.

"…"

Frisk grabbed the wall, using it to pull herself up.

"You… all those times… you acted like you cared if I was hurt, or if I was going to be hurt… it was all an act, huh?"

The blue in Sans's eye faded.

"…w-wait, I-"

"Shut up!" Frisk snapped.

She put her hand to her chest.

"You think I asked to be this way?! That I knew about this!? Yeah, I'm so evil, right! You're the fucking hero, and I'm just a bad guy? All because I fell down here, did what I could to not hurt anyone, and ended up with this stupid power? What about _you!?_ "

Sans stepped back. His sudden outburst faded just as soon as it came.

"You would've killed me… all because of that! Or maybe because I'm just a fucking human! You never actually gave a single shit, did you?!"

"Frisk… stop."

Frisk snarled.

"No! I may be a coward, but at least I can _care about someone_ for real! I thought of you as a friend! Probably my best friend in this whole underground! I liked spending time with you, I looked forward to it! I would've been concerned if you got hurt, I would've tried to save you if you were dying! The reason I fought against Undyne was so that I could stay with you and Papyrus…"

Frisk was crying now, fat lines of tears streaming down her face.

Sans looked hollow, scared even.

"You… please don't tell me Papyrus is in on this too…"

"…no…" Sans's voice sounded strangled.

Frisk sucked in a shakey breath.

"Good, at least I know there is someone who cares about me for real. I always didn't like getting close to people, because of things like this. Yet I got close to you… and I guess I learned my lesson, huh? I just grow close to the wrong people… hell, at least Undyne was honest about everything. I'm a coward, an anomaly, but you're no better than me."

Sans's hands were balled up.

"Frisk… listen to me. I-I got mad, I-"

"No! I'm not listening to you! What, you think you're gonna tell me some lie, and everything is going to be okay? I'm not cowering anymore. I'm not going back either. I feel bad to punish Papyrus, but maybe _you_ can explain what you did!"

Frisk turned to leave, her tail bristling with rage.

Rage that hid how truly hurt she was.

It hurt so bad, knowing that she wasn't ever actually cared about.

Everything… it was never real. It was all a fairytale. A distant dream of having a friend…

A close friend.

"Wait, please!"

"I'm. Leaving. Do whatever you like, you could even kill me if you want. Fuck your promise."

Frisk started running, unable to take anymore.

Sans didn't go after her.

Knowing the dog would be ahead, she turned off onto one of the side paths.

She didn't care about being lost, it didn't even occur to her.

She just wanted to get away.

Everything was a blur, and she didn't stop running.

Running…

There was a loud snap.

Something grabbed her leg, cutting into it, and she was pulled to the ground.

Frisk gasped as pain burst forth. Real, physical pain.

Frisk looked back to find her leg in the jaws of a massive metal trap.

Frisk felt… numb. She wasn't surprised, upset… just numb.

She didn't question why it was there, what it was meant for.

She gave her leg a little tug before just giving up and laying on the ground. She buried her face in her scarf, the tears still running down her cheeks.

 _Whatever… if I die, I just come back anyways. If I freeze to death, I'll be sent back to the star. It doesn't matter._

 _Not that he would really care._

* * *

…

 **Welp, there ya go.**

 **Drama.**

 **Sadness.**

 **Yay.**

Me Myself and I:Yay I got noticed! I feel so special.

But as you said, "(the really bad consent and reproduction jokes in this chapter don't help, do they? Lol)" no, no they do not. :D

Just imagine Papyrus's response to a bad pun. Almost sort of a face palm.

Im glad the Snowdon arc is over, it was starting to be a bit of a drag... But hey! Onwards! Am I right?

Have a great day!

 **Hello again! I feel so special that you take the time to review :D especially such well thought out ones!**

 **I tried to be more… on the appropriate side this chapter. Sans did have one, but he didn't say it. Nope XD**

 **Yup, I sorta face palm myself too for having such a crude sense of humor.**

 **I'm glad it's over too. It was starting to feel like it was never going to be over, and the pacing was everywhere where it shouldn't be. Hopefully I'm back on track (things may have gone a little too fast here but that's more on my itching to get it down.)**

 **You have a good day as well :3**

 **Thanks for reviewing, and I look forwards to seeing you again!**

iluvfanfic:oh. my. Gawsh. i just saw "too early" and i was ROTFLMAO. lol. it was absolutely, pawsitively, amewsing. Also tysm for answering my reviews. i feel so happies. also, domt worry about people being uncomfortable. (never google kinktober) XD

-Your pawsome reader,

iluvfanfic.

 **I'm glad you liked it! My art isn't the best, so sorry about that!**

 **I should be thanking you for taking the time to review in the first place! I am happies too X3**

 **I google everything everyone tells me not too :I hey, never google Boku no Pico (knowing that you probably will since I told you not too, make sure no one else is around and use headphones. It's really bad, really really bad. It scarred me for life.)**

 **Thanks for reviewing, and I look forward to seeing you next time!**

 **Phew, I am tired as all hell now. I typed this in one day, and that's actually pretty rough XD at least I have my Hot chocolate.**

 **Have a good day/night, and I'll see you next chapter!**

 **From the wolf in the mountains,**

 **Comycat~**


	16. Chapter 15-1 Never change, never hurt

**This is a very, very short chapter. Because it's part one of two.**

 **Part one is in Frisk pov.**

 **Part two is the first Sans pov!**

 **I will upload them together Because I don't want to make you wait ^_^**

* * *

Frisk got cold _fast._

She no longer had her coat, and she didn't move an inch. The pain inflicted by the trap was an ache now, the worst of it gone and as long as she stayed still it wouldn't hurt anymore.

The ground was rough and uncomfortable, especially when she started shivering. But she didn't really care.

She just wanted it to be done and over with quickly, so she could wake up beside the star again.

She reflected on how foolish she was to be scared of death the last time, when the dog killed her. She had known about the power, but uncertainty mixed with the flash of the moment robbed her of her wit.

The only sound was the chattering of her own teeth.

Everything went by so slow, it seemed like an eternity of shivering and cold. She was beginning to wonder if she would never die and she was stuck in a cold hell for the rest of time.

Her fingers were numb and stiff, as were her ears. She didn't try to move them. Looks like the gloves didn't really work after all.

Eventually, she stopped shivering.

Everything was numb.

She couldn't remember what warmth felt like even if she wanted too.

Once she got past the phase of painful cold… it wasn't that bad.

She felt nothing. Nothing mattered.

Her mind had slowed down, and was foggy and unclear. _Probably from hypothermia_ , she vaguely thought.

That was the last thing she processed through her brain.

After that she just surrendered to the cold. Her body was frozen, her mind was frozen.

Nothing moved.

She stayed in this haze for what seemed like forever, until crunching broke through. She didn't move, didn't acknowledge it.

She really couldn't, anymore.

Someone said something, and she felt a burning hot hand against her skin.

She ignored it.

It prodded her, as if trying to shake life into her.

She just wanted to fall asleep and not wake up.

Why couldn't she be left in peace?

There was shuffling, and the jaws on her leg moved. It didn't hurt anymore, the cold had numbed everything. But the pressure wavered, then disappeared.

Her mind felt like it was on the edge of something. It was flickering in a similar manner to a broken lightbulb.

She heard more distant words, and felt more prodding.

Her mind didn't even process it.

There was more talking.

With a slow, gentle movement, gritty frozen ground disappeared from under her.

Her consciousness flashed with the unexpected movement, and she was pressed against something warm and soft.

She wondered through the fog if she was finally dying.

Her mind teetered again, and she felt like she was moving.

She dabbed the surface of unconsciousness, dipping in and out of it.

Eventually, the dark came and stayed, and she welcomed it.

…

Everything was dark for awhile.

Then it was warm. It was like she was in a cocoon of warmth, floating in a sea of warm milk.

It felt nice…

She relished in this feeling, unable to really think or do much else.

She eventually began feeling sensations such as the air, and something soft around her.

Then she could feel her body again.

She groaned, her throat hurting her.

There was a soft light poking through her eyelids.

 _Where am I?... I'm not in Waterfall by the star…_

Her thoughts felt… unstable.

She tried to open her eyelids.

She didn't realize how heavy they were, or how tired she felt.

The light hurt a great deal, but she became used to it fast. It was very… soft.

Her vision was blurry, so much so it was hard to make anything out. It began to gradually clear out.

She recognized this place almost immediately.

The Skeletons house.

She was back here.

Frisk growled and put her hand up to her eyes, pinching her forehead.

 _Why couldn't he just let me die?! Is his stupid promise that important?!_

Frisk laid on the couch for awhile, not thinking of anything.

The stress and frustration was making her stomach churn.

Her leg ached. The ankle felt hot and swollen.

This wouldn't be an issue if she was _dead._

The thought didn't feel nice now… but she pushed it aside.

She had to use the bathroom.

It was night outside, but there was a lamp on the small table next to the couch. It was left on at a very low setting.

She sat up slowly, refraining from moving her right leg. It was covered in thick gauze.

She spotted her bag and coat next to the couch, where she usually placed them.

At least he had the decency to bring her stuff back despite being a fake lazy ass.

Frisk's limbs still felt stiff, as did her back. She didn't want to move _anything._

She also had a scratchy, sick feeling, like the beginning of a cold.

Oh well.

Frisk used the side of the couch to pull herself up onto her good leg, her right leg screaming in pain. She limped up the stairs at an excruciating rate, but eventually she did her business and collapsed back on the couch.

She dug under the blankets and fell back into a dreamless sleep.

…

She drifted in and out of sleep a few times.

She couldn't remember any happenings from those times.

All too soon, she was more awake.

It was light outside.

She felt _horrible._

She really felt sick now, her breathing rough and an itching feeling in her leg. The wound's ache had spread further up.

She moaned and turned slightly. She wanted to vomit.

She heard heavy footsteps.

"Human! You're awake!" She heard Papyrus say.

His voice was much too loud and cutting.

She pulled her arm over her head and moaned.

"Oh! I'm sorry Human, I didn't realize my voice hurt you. I'll talk quieter." Papyrus lowered his voice.

 _Why not at all?_ Frisk growled in her head.

She regretted this thought immediately.

 _Papyrus didn't do anything, I can't punish him for no reason. He doesn't know any better._

"It's okay…" she forced out. Her voice was straggled and hoarse.

"… You sound like your throat hurts. Do you want something to drink? Or eat? I would even go get Grillby's fries for you if you would like. The Great Papyrus would brave the grease for his Human friend! Though, if you are sick, you should refrain from grease and eat lots of fruits and veggies!"

Despite feeling like she had been run over by a New York school bus, she smiled.

She forced herself to look over at Papyrus.

The look on his face was heartbreaking. He was clearly forcing a smile, but he looked like he was about to cry.

Did Sans maybe tell him she was leaving?

She would kick his ass if he did. Screw being scared of him before, no one hurt Papyrus.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry. Thanks though, Pap. And yes, you're right. Very smart." Frisk croaked.

Papyrus perked up slightly.

"Really? Thank you human… but are you sure? Maybe just water? You sound like you need it."

Frisk sighed.

 _He's just so sweet… I don't want to worry him._

"Fine, I guess water is okay. My stomach isn't feeling the greatest, so I don't think I'll be able to stomach much."

Papyrus jumped to his feet.

"Okay, Human! I shall get you the best water!"

He turned towards the kitchen.

"Wait, Papyrus."

"Huh? What is it, Human?"

She didn't let the tears make their way into her eyes.

"Don't… ever change, okay Papyrus? Always stay the way you are…"

…

Something was wrong.

She kept getting sicker and sicker.

The ache kept on spreading, and the wound felt icky for some unknown reason. It was blisteringly to the touch, even under the gauze.

She forced herself to drink water, but just didn't have any appetite. She felt bad for worrying Papyrus, but the thought of food made her want to gag.

She didn't see Sans at all, to her relief. She didn't want to see him.

Yet, a part of her ached to wake up and see him there. To laugh with him.

She smacked the thought away.

He would never. Never sincerely stick by her side and care. He just cared about a stupid promise to someone who _did_ care.

It was getting harder and harder to move at all. She felt weak and tired and drained… like she was still dying.

Maybe she was.

She could tell poor Papyrus was very, very distressed. He tried to hide it around her, but it was pretty clear.

Frisk talked less and less. It took too much energy.

Despite sleeping for most of the time, her eyes had dark circles under them.

She noticed her skin was becoming paler as well.

Finally, after taking all of her strength for a bathroom trip, she plopped onto the couch and gave in.

…

She was cold and shivering, yet sweaty.

Her throat was on fire and her mouth was dry.

Her blood felt like it was on fire, and like it was… dirty. Contaminated.

Her whole body had a deep ache.

She hated this. She wanted it to be over.

She couldn't summon the strength to wake up fully, open her eyes.

Every breath was a wheeze.

She slipped back into the painful void of darkness.


	17. Chapter 15-2 If you only knew

**Part two!**

 **Sans POV**

* * *

Something was going _terribly_ wrong.

Sans didn't know what to do.

He never did, really. Everything he did he was bound to screw up.

This included.

The human- Frisk- just kept on getting sicker and sicker.

He cleaned and changed the wound every night when she was asleep. With this sickness she was a heavy sleeper, so he found no issue.

Other than that, he completely avoided her.

He knew he wasn't welcome.

On one hand, he was still agitated and upset about her being the anomaly.

The anomaly he had tried so hard, his entire life, to find.

The reason he didn't want to try anymore. That nagging feeling that he was stuck in a world that was a game to someone else.

And she really was it.

He had tried his dammed hardest to believe it wasn't her at first. Because, he had foolishly made a promise and he couldn't kill her…

But also because he just didn't want to think it was her.

She was... Interesting. She could be the sweetest thing, or she could grow a bite. Everything she did was in a reserved yet charming way, and he had quickly grown to feel the same protective feelings for her that he did with Papyrus.

She was right about him. He _was_ an asshole. He didn't actually care at first. Hell, he hated humans with all he had. If he hadn't made that promise she would've died right there in Snowdin forest.

He befriended her for his own gain. He thought that if she _was_ the anomaly, he could convince her to stop resetting if he got close enough.

He really wasn't careful enough about that.

That brought about the emotions on Sans's other hand… regret, sadness.

He regretted snapping, becoming aggressive. He couldn't help it, the pain was too much. But, he quickly toned down and realized how much of a holy mother of a mistake he made.

He knew from early on Frisk was very sensitive. He had to be careful not to frighten her, very careful. Not only did he scare her senseless, but he pushed her to a place he never saw before.

He was powerless to stop her pain-fueled outburst.

His true nature got the best of him.

The truth was that he _was_ scared when Frisk was about to die. He could remember _crying._ Thinking about it made him feel a ghost of anguish and pain.

He did feel something for the human.

He grew attached.

He didn't really realize it. He viewed taking care of her as a job, like a forced pet.

But… later on, he really felt genuine compassion towards her. She felt less like a pet and more like a true friend. He enjoyed getting in light back and forths, cared about how she viewed him, wanted to make sure she was healthy and happy.

He learned that humans did feel like monsters did, that they could be individuals with so many quirks of their own.

Humans were really just like monsters.

He couldn't really kill her now even if he tried.

He couldn't shake the guilt. He just gave up like he did before, lie awake in bed for hours on end. He trailed to his jobs and back, and did nothing.

Eventually, Papyrus burst into his room crying about how the human had a horrible fever and would not wake up.

Sans had never, _ever_ woken up so fast in his life.

He knew she hadn't eaten at all since he carried her back, and she only drank the occasional water.

Frisk's breathing was a rough wheeze, and her skin was clammy.

He tried calming Papyrus down, but he couldn't even convince himself everything was going to be alright.

A part of him said she was an anomaly, let her die, she'll come back…

But he knew better.

His fathers experiments indicated otherwise.

The ability to SAVE and RESET wasn't unlimited. It was unstable. It could fail without warning.

Most of all, it would be very dangerous for her to die in her condition.

The ability to connect and load to the last SAVE would be tampered by her giving up. By her lack of determination.

She was in very real danger now.

And Sans learned from last time it wasn't just a promise he was acting on anymore.

Papyrus was still sobbing.

"Shhh, Paps, it'll be okay. She'll wake up, okay?"

Papyrus looked up at him, his eye sockets full of tears.

"Sans… what if you're wrong? What if she doesn't wake up! I'll lose my only friend… I should've taken better care of her!" Papyrus started weeping again.

Sans ran his finger-bones along his brothers back.

"Nonsense, bro. You took very good care of her. There's something wrong inside, there's nothing you could have done better. We'll watch her and see what happens."

Sans sat with his brother for the rest of the day, reading him his favorite book. He played Sodoku with him. He also called off of his jobs.

Not like it made much of a difference, he never really tried there anyways.

…

The next day, and he was getting too worried.

She didn't move at all, and her fever got worse.

Her wheezing breaths became fewer and father between.

He had to think of something, because he knew deep down she wouldn't make it without help.

He couldn't take her to a doctor all the way in the capital. Too far, not to mention they would know she was a human and kill her.

Papyrus was getting more upset by the minute. It was all Sans could do to keep his poor brother from breaking down.

It hurt his chest.

He sat cross legged on the floor by the couch, absentmindedly looking at his joke book. Trying to distract himself.

He read over a real good one from Toriel…

Suddenly, something clicked.

 _Tori! That's it! Maybe she knows what to do! She did have a human child and once, after all._

Sans stood up, walking to the door.

"Brother?" Papyrus asked.

Sans pulled his coat on.

"I'm goin' to get a friend of mine, she may be able to help."

Papyrus perked up.

"Really?!"

"Yeah. I'm not positive she can help, but it's worth a shot."

"Hurry then!"

"Yeah, yeah." Sans said.

 _I really do need to hurry, I hope it's not too late… damn it Tori, it's your fault we have this problem, you'd better know how to fix it._

Sans used his teleportation powers- shortcuts, he called them.

He rarely used them- they took a lot of energy and the places he could go were very limited.

He arrived at a place deep within Waterfall- a few minutes from Tori's place.

Her house was hidden away, deep in the caverns. The only two regular visitors- and friends of hers- were himself and a ghost named Napstablook. As former queen, she wasn't very... appreciated, by a number of monsters.

Especially after the new king called out her mistakes.

He didn't exile her, though, like everyone thought. He might have a few actions driven by the wrong goal, but he was very just and understanding of most.

He wasn't a bad ruler, though not nearly as kind as Asgore.

He was surprised he grew attached. He never really had a... Female... Friend before her. She would come and keep him joking company while he did his sentry duty, and he grew to appreciate her motherly nature to all. Maybe out of yearning.

Sans felt a spark of hope as he caught sight of a familiar yellow lantern, one that was hung right outside her house.

Her house was made with an old wood, the door painted purple. It had the old delta rune etched into it. On one side was a bright lantern that always burned, on the other side a brilliant wind chime.

Sans walked up to the door, up the ice-less steps, and knocked.

He couldn't a grin onto his face, like he always did. The pain in his soul was too great.

He put his hands in his coat pockets.

He heard the shuffling of feet, and the door creaked open.

Toriel towered over him, still wearing her reading glasses.

She was a tall, goat like monster, with fur so white she could blend in with snow. Her ears hung down the sides of her face and were covered in long, silky fur that turned into a pale blue- gray at the tips. A silver ring with a stone the same color as the delta rune on her dress was wrapped around each of her ears.

Her eyes were a deep burgundy, almost red in light. Her dress was a pleasant purple, and the bottom was a series of little hanging threads like a fancy pillow.

She smiled warmly.

"Hello, Sans. I didn't expect you right now, did I miss a text?"

"Naw, it's just somethin' real urgent."

Toriel's smile faded.

"O-oh… what may it be?"

"It's… about the human. The one I told you about?"

Toriels paws raised to her mouth.

"… please, please tell me they are alive!"

"Yes, she is, but she may not be much longer. She got herself on a trap in Waterfall, and the wound hasn't healed. She's gotten sicker and sicker, and she ain't doing to well. I came here to ask if you can help."

Toriel took a breath.

"Of course, my dear. I will take a look. Though, I do not want to leave here, I do not want to see another human hurt or killed."

Sans turned.

"Alright, then lets go."

He let his eye lights fade.

God, it was tiring acting like everything was okay. Like he didn't deserve to go die in a hole.

…

"She has an infection. Pretty deep, by the look of it."

Toriel was seated next to Frisk on a stool. Papyrus was practically leaning against her in anticipation of what she was going to say.

Frisk's breathing was terrible, Sans noticed.

He wanted to hit himself for not realizing that she had an infection.

"Lady Asgore, is she going to be okay?!" Papyrus asked.

Toriel shot the tall skeleton a look.

" _Toriel_." She corrected. "And I can't be sure yet. I know how to treat it, but… it has set in very far. I will do my best to not let another human fall victim to Monster kind's cruelty."

Toriel ran her paw gently over Frisk's head, like she was already taking her in as her own child.

Sans swallowed back telling her it was _his_ fault.

He noticed how she looked sad. Lost in the past. This probably brought memories up of her late child Chara.

Both were Moon-Bloods, and both had the wolf tail and ears.

"Thank you, Lady A- er, Toriel!" Papyrus threw his arms around Toriel in a hug.

It was weird to see someone a deal bigger than his brother, who Sans viewed as one of the tallest people he knew besides Undyne.

Toriel laughed softly.

"Aw, it's nothing. You have nothing to thank me for. I onl-"

There was a sharp knock on the door.

Sans's soul jumped.

 _Good fucking god._

Papyrus looked to the door enthusiastically.

"Oh, I wonder who it is?!"

Sans exchanged looks with Toriel.

"I'll get it bro. Stand here by the human." Sans said sternly.

Papyrus looked at him oddly, but didn't say anything.

Sans walked up to the door and opened it halfway.

 _Dammit, looks like I was right._

A royal guard member stood on the porch, armor shining.

He was a young dog monster, one who he recognized as the Royal Guards deputy, second under the Head. He strongly resembled a Tibetan Mastiff, with a thick main that pooled over his armor and a stocky build. His fur was a mix of black and white and muffin brown. His eyes had a kind sparkle to them.

"I am here under orders of the Royal Guard. There is suspicion that there is a human here and I am required to investigate these quarters."

Sans felt his eyes flicker.

 _Shit…_

"Oh, come in." Toriel said from behind him.

Sans looked over at Toriel.

She was standing in front of the couch, and she had pulled the blanket up as far as she could on Frisk. She lightly tapped a book, a gesture she guessed was to hide the horrible sound of Frisk's wheezing.

Sans uneasily opened the door.

The dog stepped in.

He looked around.

The second his eyes met Toriel's he jumped and started quivering.

"Y-y-y-your m-majesty…" he stuttered for a moment before bowing.

"No need, I am no longer your Queen. Refer to me simply as Toriel." Toriel said flatly.

The dog straightened.

"B-but Your M- * _ahem*_ , Toriel I… I am humbled to be in your presence, regardless of your status. You will forever be a Queen to me."

Toriel blinked.

"Young one, I am surprised you hold that belief. Not many do, I'm afraid."

The dog bowed his head.

"Y-yes, unfortunately. They think you've left your people. But I believe in loyalty, regardless of mistakes. I am loyal to our current King, yes, but I feel more towards you and King Asgore. I always looked up to you two in my childhood, and I always looked forwards to serving in the royal guard under you."

"What is your name, young one?" Toriel asked.

The dog reeled in surprise.

"M-me? My name is Rocky. I am honored you asked." He did a slight bow once again.

He sniffed the air.

Sans stiffened.

 _Shit, we can't hide a smell!_

He prepared for a fight.

Rocky straightened.

"There is a human here. But, you being here, Toriel, means that this human means something to you, yes?"

"Yes." Toriel replied.

Rocky looked uneasy.

"I never agreed with killing humans. Judging by the scent, this one is very sick and vulnerable. Dogamy sent me here because of scent found in Waterfall and a sprung trap. I do not want to go back on orders, but I do not want to kill. Tell me, is this human good?"

"… I believe so, I do not know her personally. You'd have to ask Sans." Toriel turned to him.

The dog followed her gaze.

Sans bristled.

 _Jeez, thanks Tori._

"Well?" Rocky prompted.

Sans thought for a moment.

She had pulled her dagger a few times, before she lost it in the river. But she never used it, never killed anyone.

She helped Gyftrot, listened to the smaller monsters. She volunteered at the library.

She wasn't a bad person.

Sans tried to push his guilt aside.

"Yeah. She's good."

"Is this human a danger?"

"No."

"Is this human important to you all?"

"Yes! She is my friend!" Papyrus answered eagerly.

"… yes. I may not know her personally, but from what I've heard I've grown fond. And she reminds me of my late child." Tears sparkled in Toriel's eyes.

Sans felt everyone's gaze on him.

 _Okay, Sans. Time to be honest for once… does she really mean anything?_

He would've killed her at first. He forced friendliness, when really he was filled with anger and distrust every time he saw her.

But…

He hated it. That warmth He felt in his ribs when he spent time with the human.

He...

Sans closed his eyes.

"Yes. She's important."

Rocky's eyes shone.

"Then I saw nothing here."

* * *

 **Look up Tibetan Mastiffs, they are amazing! So floof!**

 **I feel this part flopped. I'm not used to Sans's POV yet. It won't be very often, but this isn't the last time, I promise!**

 **It's pretty weird with Sans's real emotions revealed. He seemed like such a friendly guy, like this isn't the case. But that's Sans for ya :3**

 **Reviews!**

Djmegamouth: I think it's time for frisk to fight to kill she won't be able to escape waterfall while dogamy still lives. Just a good idea prove Flowey right what will happen when you meet a ruthless killer. She doesn't have to hold back from hurting papyrus's feelings she just has to fight to survive.

 **That's a cool idea, but sorry it didn't happen! Dogamy didn't know about Frisk yet (time got reversed by the reset, so that encounter didn't technically happen.) If Frisk wasn't caught in the trap and met a monster, and still had her dagger, maybe she would've fought to kill. But I don't think she has it in her yet. I've been teasing around with having it happen later on, or by accident, but then it would've be a real "pacifist" route. But this is an AU, so I do have the liberty of messing around with stuff.**

 **And don't worry, I have plenty of bloodshed planned for much, much, much later.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reviewing! I look forward to seeing you next time!**


	18. Chapter 16- Mixed

**Welp, we're back to Frisk!**

 **I just had the best idea ever…**

 **Y'know how there was no Papyrus date?**

 **Well, I think I just found the second best option**

 **:3**

 **Poor Frisk is in for the most awkward thing ever in her life.**

 **With a cinnamon doge**

* * *

Frisk's awareness came back slowly.

First she could feel her heartbeat, and a throb that danced along side it.

Then she began to feel warmth, soft. Light.

There was a weight beside her on the couch, something that seemed heavier than Papyrus.

She felt extremely disoriented.

 _Wh… how… how long…_

Frisk found she felt a little better. But it felt like she was out for a long time, and she couldn't remember a single thing.

Even weirder was the savory scent of pie wafting through the air.

Frisk groaned and raised her arm to her head. It was weak and heavy.

The weight shifted.

"Oh, goodness! Are you awake, my child?"

Frisk froze.

 _Who was that?_

It was a soft, motherly tone. It was so gentle Frisk didn't feel frightened, only suspicious.

Frisk forced her eyes open. They were stuck together from how long they had been shut.

A white and purple blur sat on the opposite end of the couch.

Frisk growled softly.

"Good, you are up. No need to be frightened little one, my name is Toriel."

The name made her ears prick.

She felt like she had heard it somewhere…

Frisk pushed the thought away. She didn't feel like making the throb in her head worse.

She didn't feel like making _anything_ worse.

"W…why are you here?" Frisk asked, wincing. Her throat felt even more raw than before.

Her vision was clearing, and Frisk could see Toriel in more detail.

She was _huge_ , but she…

Looked like a woman Asgore.

Frisk realized she heard the name _from_ Asgore, back in the ruins.

 _Are they related, like Papyrus and… him?_

She didn't even want to think of his name.

Toriel's brown eyes sparkled warmly.

"I came here to heal you, child. You had a horrible infection from your leg wound. You really had the two brothers worried sick."

"I had _Papyrus_ worried sick." Frisk corrected bitterly.

Toriel looked confused.

"... I am cooking a pie at the moment. I hope you like butterscotch? And cinnamon?"

Frisk blinked. _That's that smell…_

"…yeah, I… guess…"

Frisk used the armrest of the couch to pull herself up. It took a lot more effort than normal.

She also felt empty and thin, and she noticed the bones on her wrist seemed to stick out more.

… _infection, huh…_

Toriel ran her fingers through her long ear-fur.

"Good. Take it easy, you've had a rough sickness. You may not have full strength for awhile."

Frisk tilted her head.

… _I don't have "awhile" to stay here though. I'm leaving as soon as I can._

 _I need to get away from him._

Toriel had a book with a snail on the cover in her hands.

Everything about her just seemed… homely, right down to her scent. She smelled like warm fire.

Frisk gazed at her.

"Why'd… you help me?"

Toriel looked surprised.

"Why not, child? Oh, excuse me, I call everyone child. But why would I want to let you die? I care about humans, very much. Besides, I've heard a great deal about you and how kind you are."

Frisk's ears twitched.

"Huh? From where?"

 _That's creepy…_

Toriel gave a warm laugh.

"From Sans, of course!" Frisk tensed at the mention of the skeleton. "He's talked to me a lot about you. He seems very fond."

Frisk felt a pang in her chest.

"Yeah, right." She growled.

Toriel looked confused once again.

Frisk shrunk back.

"Oh, s-sorry… I… I don't want to talk about him right now." She apologized.

Toriel adjusted her glasses.

"Okay, my dear. I do not know why, and it is none of my business." She said.

Frisk's shoulders slumped in relief.

 _It's nice to not be prodded at._

The door creaked open, and Frisk immediately felt a blast of cold air.

Surprisingly, Papyrus was the one to open it. He usually slammed it.

He had a white paper bag stained with grease in his arms. He seemed appalled by it.

"Sans, Lady Toriel, I'm home!" He called.

"Papyrus, please lower your voice." Toriel reminded.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't- HUMAN!"

The second Papyrus's eye caught her he ran over, throwing the bag on the table. Frisk was scared he would smother-hug her to death, but he skidded to a stop right in front of her.

"YOUR UP! YOU HAD THE GREAT PAPYRUS WORRIED! YOU WERE VERY ILL AND WOULD NOT WAKE UP! I AM SO GLAD YOU ARE OKAY!"

Tears sparkled in his eye sockets, and Frisk still felt guilty for worrying him.

"I'm fine, Papy." She forced a tired smile.

"You must be hungry! You haven't eaten in a long time! If you do not refill, you will look just like us!" Papyrus patted his chest.

Frisk snickered.

"Uh oh, people will start thinking you're my brother."

"Yes! Exactly why we must feed you as much as possible!"

Toriel raised her hand.

"Easy, Papyrus. She can't overdo it now."

"Oh, right! Would you like some of Sans's fries for now? I'm sure he wouldn't mind. He hasn't been touching them that much anyways."

Frisk shook her head violently, making herself dizzy.

"No! I don't want his food! Keep it away."

She didn't even want to eat Grillby's, or smell it. It brought back bitter memories.

Papyrus looked a little down.

"Okay. Lady Toriel is cooking pie and chicken right now, she's almost as good at cooking as I am! I just brought Grillby's to try to get my brother out of his room. He hasn't come out of there often, and he hasn't even touched the ketchup in the fridge! He's acting strange. Now that I think about it, so are you!"

Frisk looked down.

Papyrus didn't know where to stop. "Did you and my brother have a fight?"

Frisk kept looking at the floor and bit her tongue.

She knew if she said anything, it wouldn't be pretty. It was either burst into tears or snarl and snap, and neither would have been good.

So she stayed silent.

Toriel seemed to understand now, and she stood up and placed a large hand on Papyrus's shoulder.

"Do not bug. Why don't you go upstairs and tell Sans dinner is almost done and he should come down?"

Papyrus enthusiastically saluted.

"Yes, Lady Toriel!"

He ran up the stairs faster than ever.

Toriel giggled as he did so.

"He's such a sweetheart. Now, would you like some chicken? Papyrus is right about you needing to eat. I know you may not be hungry but you should try something."

Frisk thought for a moment.

"Yeah… I guess…"

Toriel was right about her not being hungry, but her body was shaking from weakness and she didn't feel sick to her stomach anymore.

"Good. I'll be back shortly."

Toriel left for the kitchen. Her footsteps were heavy, probably due to her size.

Frisk took a breath.

She liked Toriel. She reminded her so much of Asgore, minus the bad memories. Like a mother to everyone.

There was talking upstairs, and what sounded like Papyrus's nagging.

 _Good. The jackass deserves it._

Frisk stared at the wall to the opposite side of the room for a bit, counting the sprinkles on the pet rock.

Her attention was snapped by a creak on the stairs.

Frisk didn't turn her head, only her eyes. Her ears swiveled backwards.

Sans was standing at the bottom of the stairs, his hand on the armrest. His eyes flickered warily.

Frisk's body immediately began to shake, and her chest felt like a storm.

It was all she could do to not yell right then and there.

There was a heavy silence.

"…hey. How… are you… feeling?" Sans's voice was quiet, awkward. A little frightened, maybe.

Frisk didn't care. She turned and bared her teeth.

"Why do _you_ care?" She snapped.

Sans recoiled. A look of hurt flashed on his face before being replaced with annoyance.

"God, how unforgivable of me to care about how you feel after you almost _died."_

Frisk did not take lightly to his tone.

Her tail bristled, and her ears forced forwards with aggression.

"No thanks to _you._ "

"Me? I'm not the one who ran off in the middle of Waterfall!"

"Oh, because I'm the one that decided to bring out giant skull things and act all pissed off for something I myself did, right?" Frisk snarled.

Sans wasn't sounding any happier. He rolled his now dim eye lights. "Great, back to this. You have no idea what I feel like, what I've been through. You only care about what you feel like!"

Frisk responded to the growl in his voice with a growl of her own.

"Says the person who only cares about _his_ promise."

"You really are more blind than a goddamn one eyed badger. First of all, a promise takes two fucking people, and I didn't just make it for me. Second of all, you think that's the only thing I acted on? You know I'm a lazy ass. But poor Frisky doesn't care, Because poor little Frisky got her feelings hurt!"

Sans's expression began to change, the anger fading just as quick as it came.

"You act like you're the only one hurt by this. Like I'm some big bad guy with no heart, right? Look, Puppo, the world isn't black and white. I didn't mean to snap at you right now, but I think you really need to think a little more about this. Why do you think I brought you back from Waterfall?"

Sans moved closer, and his voice lowered. Frisk back against the couch and growled deeply.

"The same reason I'm still alive in the first place, the reason I wasn't killed to begin with." She lowered her own voice too, but she couldn't control the venom in it.

"I didn't ask for you to bring me back, I actually wanted the opposite. I'm the anomaly, right? So what does it matter that I die, I can just come right back. You don't break your promise, and I don't have to deal with shit like this." She added.

Sans flinched, his eyes going wide.

"You… you really… no. That's not how it works. I don't care if you hate my guts, I don't care if you think you can abuse your power. You have no idea. You are not going to die. Even if you think you have unlimited power- which you don't. If I don't have that privilege then you don't either."

Sans's voice was shaking, and his words had an ominous feel to them.

Before Frisk could reply, Sans turned around and trudged up the stairs.

He pushed past Papyrus, who, to Frisk's horror, looked like he had been there for a decent amount of time.

Papyrus turned to his brother and reached for him.

"Sans…"

Papyrus's arm fell as Sans disappeared upstairs, followed by the slam of his door a few seconds later.

Frisk was _trembling_. Her muscles would not rest as her heart slammed her rib cage.

Worst of all, she _hurt._

There was a horrible pain in her chest that would just not go away.

She desperately wished it would stop, that she could just fade away and not feel anymore. It was so much better when she was numb, when the cold cut off the pain.

Papyrus looked down at her, looking torn and upset, before following his brother.

Frisk grabbed at her chest.

 _Dammit, I hurt Papyrus. The person I didn't want to hurt. I just want it to go away…_

She caught a glimpse of white fur and saw Toriel at the entrance to the kitchen.

She hoped Toriel didn't see that either.

Considering…

 _She's the one Sans made the promise too, isn't she._

Frisk couldn't look at her after that.

Toriel just went back into the kitchen silently.

Eventually, whatever food was ready and plated. Frisk certainly wasn't hungry now, but managed a few mouthfuls.

Then Papyrus finally convinced Sans to come downstairs.

He sat far away, on the floor against the wall. She couldn't even see him from where she was.

Nothing was said between them.

That night was probably the quietest ever in the skeleton household, with even Papyrus acting strangely quiet.

Probably for the best.

…

The next few days Frisk learned she _really_ liked Toriel.

Toriel had lots and lots of books, especially history books. She also had the desire to be a teacher. Which was great for the two of them, because Toriel could teach her history and Frisk could get her fill of it.

Toriel had a spare phone that she had given Frisk, and Frisk was happy with the gift. She could go on to Undernet, which was like the monster equivalent of Facebook. Papyrus tagged her in EVERYTHING.

Frisk also loved Toriel's pies. Once Frisk could get up- which was long before Toriel really wanted her up- Frisk watched and helped Toriel with her cooking. Asgore sucked at baking, but Toriel was an all-around cook. She even got Papyrus involved and the three of them spent quality time in the kitchen.

Even with Toriel and Papyrus, Frisk still felt an aching hole in her chest.

Frisk was watching as Toriel showed Papyrus how to make cookie dough. Upon learning Frisk loved chocolate chip cookies, the Great Papyrus insisted that they make some as a "get better" present. He pushed her aside and said "We can't let you make your own get better present, Human!"

She found she would much rather eat the cookie dough un-cooked.

Toriel's mothering intensified at the suggestion.

So Frisk sat on the counter, watching the chaos unfold.

Her leg was healing nicely, with some help from Toriel's herbs and healing magic. Her magic was very limited in that it could only heal very minor scratches and such, and stop bleeding, but a little of it each day was speeding up the healing process.

As Papyrus was rolling a very lopsided cookie, a knock rang out through the house.

Frisk jumped, and Papyrus looked towards the door excitedly.

"I'll get it!" Papyrus called, sprinting to the door.

Frisk and Toriel exchanged glances.

Papyrus fiddled with the door handle (it had become stiff for some reason) and then pulled the door open.

A fluffy dog in armor stood outside.

Frisk stiffened.

 _That's armor… is he a royal guardsman? He has that symbol on his chest… oh no…_

Frisk pulled herself off the counter, standing stiffly.

"Oh, Rocky! Why are you here!"

The dog's eyes widened, and he scratched the back of his head.

"O-oh, I, uh… wanted to… y'know, see the human? I've never actually… seen one. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone!"

Frisk tilted her head.

 _What the….?_

"Of course! Come in!" Papyrus moved aside.

Rocky gave a tiny bow in appreciation.

"T-thank you."

Rocky padded in, kicking snow off of his paws before stepping on the carpet.

The second he saw Toriel he bowed.

"Greeting Q- er, miss Toriel."

"Greetings." Toriel returned, tone amused.

Rocky's blue eyes fixed on Frisk.

She bristled, suspicious.

They stared at each other for a few tense moments.

"Uh… hello. I'm… Rocky."

Rocky approached slowly, and Frisk noticed his tail was down.

He extended his paw in greeting.

Frisk glared at it for a few moments before accepting his 'paw shake', never taking her eyes off him.

"I'm Frisk…"

Rocky took a step back, smiling.

"Nice to meet you!"

Papyrus ran in and pointed at the dog.

"He may be a member of the Royal Guard, but he's real nice! He agreed to keep you a secret!"

Frisk's expression changed.

 _He… is a member of the Royal Guard! But… he…_

Frisk's aggression faded.

"Um… t-thanks…" she stuttered.

"No problem! Unless Dogamy finds out… then I'm a skinned pig, heh."

Rocky laughed nervously.

 _Yeah, funny._

"I think you'd make a lovely rug." Toriel laughed.

Rocky looked even more nervous.

"N-not funny! I love my fur." He put his paw in his mane of fur that pooled over his armor.

 _You've got too much of it._ Frisk said mentally.

Rocky avoided eye contact.

"So, umm… I've got to go now, but… do you think I could come back again?"

He was looking at her.

Why?

Frisk motioned to Papyrus.

"Not my house, ask him."

Papyrus leaped in joy.

"Yes, of course! I would love to have another friend!"

Rocky let out another nervous chuckle.

"Y-yeah… see you." He waved and then rushed out of the door.

The second he left Papyrus put his hand on his chin.

"Weird."

"Yup." Frisk agreed.

"He's sweet." Toriel defended.

"Cookies dough is sweet too." Frisk reached and took a finger full of dough.

"Frisk!"

…

Rocky came and went for a short time every day.

He only really wanted to talk to her, really.

Frisk didn't know how to feel about him. He was sweet- it was hard to believe he was a royal guard member- but he was just weird.

Frisk couldn't put her finger on why.

He seemed to really want to be friends.

Which got Frisk thinking…

Maybe she could fill the void in her chest with another close friend?

She didn't feel… right, thinking like that. Like Sans could just be replaced. But she shook herself and told her the jackass was never real, it was all a fairytale.

Frisk made an effort to make friends with Rocky, which wasn't a lot on her part.

At least they both liked dog movies, like Lassie.

Frisk wondered how Lassie got down here anyways.

It was also time Frisk thought about moving onward through Waterfall. She would be going alone now, and she was injured. But she had the Save stars.

It came to her attention she needed a weapon, just in case.

She had lost her dagger long ago in the river.

Rocky, being a Guard, seemed to be a good person to ask.

He said he had some spare daggers and knives at home, if she wanted any. He then said he had one she'd really like.

She said as long as he didn't want them.

So a box full of weapons, an obviously newly bought case with a wolf dagger in it, and a box of Cinnamon Buns showed up on the front porch.

Frisk thought that excessive.

Toriel and Papyrus both did _not_ want Frisk to have these weapons.

"Child, they are sharp! You could hurt yourself!"

"Duh. The point is to hurt someone else if they try to hurt me."

"Human, I do not feel comfortable giving you these. I feel like you will use my brother as a target."

"… thanks for the idea, but unfortunately, no."

"Child, you could buy a… taser! Less likely for you to get hurt." Toriel proposed.

"Okay, you go find a taser. Good luck." Frisk replied.

"Human, I really don't believe you when you say you won't use these on my brother."

"Papyrus. No."

"What a horrid way to show you have an attraction to someone!" Toriel stated.

"What?" Both Frisk and Papyrus said in unison.

Toriel winked.

"You really didn't figure it out yet? He likes Frisk."

Frisk's eyes narrowed and her lip curled up.

 _Ewww, I'm being chased by a dog… wait…_

Frisk touched her ears.

That's why.

Oh boy…

…

Frisk did like her Wolf dagger. It had wolves carved delicately into the handle, hand painted and everything. It was really cool.

She didn't want to… disappoint, even though she was kinda grossed out to begin with. She just wasn't… interested.

In a dog.

He had gone out of his way to buy her a nice wolf dagger and a box of cinnamon buns (which she sorta ate half of in one day, of course without telling Papyrus.) so she felt… bad.

So he asked her out she sat there awkwardly for awhile before saying okay.

She regretted her life decisions and wished for her old friend darkness to talk to her again.

However, even old friend darkness found this predicament gross and left her to deal with her life problems alone.

Whatever, maybe if she went with it she would feel different?

Papyrus couldn't keep his mouth shut when he found out and Toriel couldn't stop laughing.

"He thinks. I'm. Like a dog." Frisk said, staring straight ahead.

"You do have… wolf parts, human! You should be delighted!"

Toriel tried to say something, but burst out into hysterical laughter again.

"I don't have that many wolf parts!" Frisk countered, her face red.

Thank the stars this wasn't happening on the surface.

"He's a royal guardsman!"

"He's a dog!"

"Dog _monster_!"

"So? That's even worse!"

Papyrus put his arm around her shoulder.

"Don't worry human, I, the Great Papyrus, will help you have the best date ever!"

Frisk scowled.

"You can't make an interspecies date good."

Toriel was still laughing.

"Do you need a Talk, child?"

"NO."

…

Thank god it was only to Grillby's.

Rocky knew better than to go to the capital, or anywhere, for that matter.

For Frisk, it was more of an opportunity to replace old memories with new ones.

Frisk waited outside of Grillby's, no coat. Because more fur would not help the problem.

Rocky showed up painfully on time. He had shed his armor for a nice flannel shirt.

Just that much more fur to go literally everywhere. It looked like he stuck a fork in an electrical socket.

Good thing she didn't look like that.

"Um, hello, Frisk." Rocky greeted.

Frisk blinked. _Oh god it's already awkward._

 _Just pretend it's a normal person it's not a dog it's just a normal person._

Impossible.

"H-hi…"

Rocky opened the door for her.

Nice…?

They got weird looks.

Instead of sitting at the stools, they sat at one of the side tables. The one right in front of the drunk bunny.

Was she always drinking?

She couldn't stop the awkwardness that ensued.

"So, um… Papyrus let me… borrow a book… to help…?"

Frisk's brow raised.

"A book about what?"

"Dating."

"Oh." Frisk questioned how she ended up deep underground with a race of weird creatures and was now on a date to a place named after a literal flame person with a giant fluffy anthropomorphic dog with a book about dating that was obtained from a skeleton.

Rocky pulled out a book and opened it.

"So… um… it says to press C…"

"What?"

"I dunno…"

Frisk had a closer look at the cover.

It was a manual for a dating simulation game called "Mew Mew Kissy Cutie".

Oh Lordy.

Suddenly, the bell to the door rang.

Sans walked in.

Frisk watched as he went up to the counter and sat down in his usual seat. She looked away as he looked over.

She felt absolutely awful.

Rocky brought her attention back to the task at hand.

"… it says to wear clothes to show you care… well, thankfully, we both did that. Wouldn't want to imagine the other option."

Rocky cleared his throat.

Frisk didn't like this.

"… this is a game manual."

"Yeah."

Rocky put it aside.

"…sorry about that." He looked extremely embarrassed.

She could feel the embarrassment sliding off of the dog and onto her.

"It's fine…"

"… do you want to order food?"

"…sure?"

 _Isn't that what going to a restaurant is for?_

"…I'm getting fried dog biscuits, do you want that too?"

"No… thanks… I'll have…" Frisk trailed off.

She was about to say fries, like she always did.

But the point of this was to move on.

Maybe dog biscuits weren't that bad.

"You know what… yeah, I'll have it." Frisk finished.

Rocky's face lit up.

"Cool!"

They ordered, and she could have sworn Grillby gave her a weird look.

She'd be sure if he wasn't a flame.

True to word, they were literal dog biscuits. Fried.

They tasted like it too.

Frisk tired to hide her displeasure at the taste.

She failed.

"You… don't like it? It's okay if you don't…" Rocky asked.

Frisk didn't know what to say.

Rocky sighed.

"It's fine if you don't like it! I guess it isn't for everyone, haha… hey, what do you want to do after this? We could… play fetch, or tug o war, or…"

"Rocky…" Frisk looked up. "I'm not a dog. I'm a human."

"Y-yeah, I know! I… uh…"

Rocky took a breath.

"Okay, I like you. You know that. But I have the feeling you don't like me."

Frisk flinched.

"N-no, I like you! Maybe not… in the same… way though…"

Rocky looked away awkwardly.

"Y-yeah, that's what I meant… I thought maybe you were just being… shy or something and would open up if we went on a date… I don't want to force you into anything, especially if you don't feel the same."

"I'm… sorry, Rocky… I didn't want to hurt you and say no…."

She left out the part about trying to use him to replace Sans.

Rocky put a paw up.

"No, it's okay! At least you tried, right? I'm a little disappointed, to be honest, but not hurt! Hey, but can we still be friend?"

"Yeah, of course!" Frisk said.

 _I think it will work better now that we've gotten… this… out of the way…_

Rocky smiled.

"So that's that then! Well, I guess we'll eat and be on our way."

Rocky ate his biscuit (Frisk left hers untouched) and they talked about dog movies.

It was a lot nicer now that the awkwardness was away and she wasn't trying to replace anyone.

She still felt guilty when Rocky paid for everything and left.

Frisk decided to stay behind.

She didn't really feel like going out into the cold right now.

She rested her head on her arms.

She felt _horrible._

Not physically, really. Emotionally.

She felt like the scum of the earth.

She stayed like that, staring at the broken jukebox at the far corner of the room.

Without warning, something was thrown onto the table.

Frisk snapped out of her daze.

She realized it was the coat she left at home.

 _What… who?_

Frisk looked behind her in time to catch Sans leaving.

Frisk stared at the door for awhile.

Then she turned back to the table.

Sans had gotten her that coat…

Did he come here just to bring it to her?

Frisk buried her head in her arms, putting her chin on the cold table.

 _I don't know what to think anymore…_

* * *

 **Lol XD please know that that whole Rocky/Frisk thing was just for fun because I thought it would be extremely funny and awkward to have a one-sided thing there. Rocky is now an official friend, and member of our cast! I love the cinnamon doggy :3 (ship name? Risky? Frocky?)**

 **Sans, bub, you just keep screwing up! But note that his snaps are very short, and he's generally very emotionally drained after. An important character trait.**

 **And he still cares about Frisky Frisk Frisk!**

 **Other than that this chapter is just a rest chapter, also filler. I wouldn't count this in the Waterfall arc, or at least the second portion.**

 **Reviews!**

iluvfanfic:I loved rocky! such a cinnamon doggie! (i loved paps reaction to humans having bones. hehe) also, i liked the pov chapter. what weel happenz? - . lastly, (i also read fire and ice. i loved it.)

 **Wow, you read Fire and Ice? That thing is really old :0 I'm humbled you like it! It's not my best, but I still loved writing it for a long time. You now know the extent to which Frisk and Ice are similar!**

 **I'm glad you liked Rocky:3 and the Papyrus reaction. Rocky is such a cinnamon bun bun!**

 **Thanks for reviewing, and I'll see you next time!**

Me myself and I:Oooh Sans you've messed up now!

I love it when there are consequences to Sans being a j***. I mean, I like that guy and all but threatening someone like at the blink of an eye, someone who is in control of so much power even if they barely know it yet… it's just a bad move on Sans's part.

The whole line of how Frisk doesn't care about dying, because it doesn't matter and it was silly to fear death after all she'll just come back is a good leadup to some darker elements…

But we can just Reset it, right?

I admit I'm wondering if Chara has any role to play in this story, there's been no sign of her.

Also, three chapters just suddenly appeared?!

A bit early for Christmas my friend! ;D

 **Yup, Sans done goofed.**

 **Consequences, consequences. Lol for some reason I just imagined Someone doing a Genocide and Toriel comes back to life and being like "bad child, go sit in the corner!"**

 **Don't worry, this phycology will be abused later. But remember it's not unlimited, and Frisk gonna have to realize that on her own ;3**

 **Chara will, don't you worry. Not in the way you will expect, though. And there's a dusty timeline yet to be explored ^_^**

 **Naw, why not have Thanksgivmis? (Christmas+Thanksgiving) XD I've had more time and motivation, so I'm cranking these babies out!**

 **Thanks for reviewing, and I look forward to seeing you next time ;D**

iluvfanfic:You are right about to be tan mastiffs! The floof is over 9000! I like sans reaction to friskys po

 **Don't worry, get it! Autocorrect sucks :/ that's why there are some mistypes floating around that I don't catch even after checking! And Tibetan Mastiffs are the floof of the floofy XD**

Iluvfanfic:Oh wow I sent the last comment wrong. Anyway, to continue, I liked sans reaction to frisks power. The a*** meter was in the green zone. Loved it. also, what does friskys eyes have to do with the fact that they get darker when she is mad? I am curious! Keep up the great work!

 **It's okay! Yeah, I actually kinda had fun writing Sans's reaction as well. Even more so in this chapter! Sansy, you can't do that! But Frisky Frisk Frisk is kinda in the wrong in this one too :3**

 **There are some people who's eye color changes very slightly with mood (happy, sadness, anger, etc.). It's usually light eye colors. It's from the chemicals released in the brain. It's very very slight though. But Frisk is affected by the magic in the underground, so I thought it would be a cool little quirk to add. :D**

 **Thanks for reviewing! I just saw your other reviews right before uploading, so I squeezed them in!**

 **Have a good day everyone!**

 **From the Wolf in the mountains,**

 **Comycat~**


	19. Chapter 17- Shattered

Frisk took a breath as she plunged into the dark caverns of Waterfall, her breath pooling out in front of her.

This is it.

She was moving onward.

It took awhile to muster up the courage to tell Papyrus. He actually reacted much better than she expected.

Rocky had offered to go with her, but she declined.

She wanted to go alone.

He knew why.

"You will face Dogamy in there. And he won't let you leave alive. You're gonna have to try your best to avoid him. He's been real active in patrols since he's caught your scent." Rocky said.

She had just nodded.

Frisk noticed that her guts had grown since last time, probably due to the knowledge that she could die and come back.

Fear was silly when she had that power.

More reason she _didn't_ have to kill Dogamy.

She stayed on the main path, ever vigilant. Her bag was much heavier this time, as she had taken some food, matches, a fire kit from Toriel and two blankets. The weight on her shoulder seemed unnatural somehow, like a hand trying to stop her. She shook it off.

At least Toriel had sewn up the holes in the bag for her, for which she was thankful for.

Frisk still listened to the flowers, seeing if they had anything new to say.

It seemed the monsters hadn't been coming to Waterfall that often, and a select few flowers were silent.

Frisk ignored the melancholy feel and continued along her way.

She made sure to touch the Save star.

She listened closely to the flowers for familiar heavy footsteps, and keep a sharp lookout.

She had her new dagger tucked away in her pocket in case of attack.

Waterfall really was beautiful. The glowing stones coupled with the blue marsh ground with the echo flowers and the shiny ice made for quite a scene.

But the silence unnerved Frisk, especially with recent events.

In truth, she hadn't fully recovered. Her leg still hurt a little and she had a slight limp. But she was determined to get through, and she had a new recklessness with her knowledge of her ability.

Something still felt… wrong about it though.

As she came to the room she had last gotten attacked, Frisk slowed. She took out her dagger, and moved forwards with ears alert.

But nobody came.

Frisk felt her neck hair stand on end as she walked through the empty room.

She could see footprints in the ground, heavy enough to break the thin sheet of ice.

They were fresh.

Dogamy was close by.

Frisk took a breath, pushing any logical fear she had, and trekked on.

The next place was long and narrow, with frost grass- she learned its name from Rocky- dotting the walls. This narrow yet long patch of land was rather desolate, only a few stones littering the otherwise empty grounds.

Deep marks marred the walls, carved deep into the blue rock. Some of the glowing stones bore marks in them, and a soft wispy blue smoke leaked from them.

Frisk's heart flopped as her eye caught a figure standing ahead.

She swallowed, her fingers running along the hem of her sweater.

There was no reason to be scared, she couldn't truly die.

She drew her dagger and walked forward.

The figure didn't move. As she got closer, she recognized Dogamy.

It was hard to believe he had never seen her before, that the world had been Reset. This was his first encounter with her.

He stayed in one spot, frozen still like the rest of Waterfall. Cold eyes fixed on her, fangs poking beneath a furry lip.

A large, battle scarred axe was sitting at his side. The blade gleamed in the blue hued light.

"So there _is_ a pathetic human roaming about the Underground." He snarled.

Frisk stopped and breathed in slowly. Her ears inched forward.

 _I have no reason to be scared, I can't be scared. I can't be scared… one moment of hesitation and I could die._

"There is no reason to fight me, Dogamy. I have not hurt anyone and I will not hurt anyone without proper cause." Frisk said flatly.

The large dog snorted.

"You know my name? Smart, though if you were really that smart you'd be cowering in fear before me. I cannot trust a single word your scum race says, nor can I neglect my duty to the underground."

Frisk's eyes narrowed.

"Your duty will lead to countless deaths on both sides."

Dogamy's lip raised, showing his teeth and gums.

"Like my wife? She's already dead and she ain't coming back. I'm done sitting underground with my tail between my legs. You humans took everything from me and the least I can do is act on justices behalf." Dogamy raised his axe and slammed it into the ground, cracking the ice in a loud snap.

Frisk growled uneasily.

"Justice on someone who has had nothing to do with your wife's death."

Dogamy seemed done with talking.

"Come forth, human, and face your death with honor. I will make it quick if you do not resist!" He slammed the butt of his axe into the ground, splintering ice echoing through the caverns.

Looked like a fight after all.

Frisk sighed.

She tensed up, pulling her blade in front of her.

Not like she had any intent to use it lethally.

Dogamy glared at her, and his eyes flowed for a moment.

Suddenly, sparkling turquoise magic swirled around his paw, and wrapped his axe in glittering light.

He picked the heavy weapon up and slashed at the air.

From each slash came forth a slice of turquoise magic that zoomed through the air.

Frisk jumped to the side, yelping as the tip of her ear was nearly caught by one.

The slices were fast, but predictable.

Frisk was trying her best to keep her heartbeat steady, and to keep on her toes.

 _Focus focus, focus… focus… I need to focus. I'm not scared, I can't be scared, I can come back. If he kills me I come back._

Dogamy dashed forward, the magic dissipating.

Frisk growled and made a pseudo slash with her blade, causing Dogamy to instinctively move to the side.

She circled him, eyes fixed on the dog.

 _He's slow, especially with that axe. But one hit and I'm done for._

Dogamy glared at her, watching carefully. The tension between the two could smash mountains.

He made his move, jumping in front of her and slashing at her feet.

Frisk's breath caught in her throat and she jumped the axe.

 _He knows my leg is hurt!_

She stumbled back, arms flailing as her composure was lost.

Dogamy made another slash, and she ducked it.

 _He moved slow but his axe moves fast when he swings it. Calm, Frisk, calm…_

Frisk ran off to the side, swinging her dagger at him as she did so. He blocked it with the handle of his axe.

Without warning, he growled and faded into the shadows.

 _Wh-what? Where did he go?_ Frisk asked herself, looking around frantically.

He seemed to just… disappear.

There was no sound in the air except for the distant drop of water.

Frisk kept her dagger up to her chest and legs apart, her breath increasing in pace.

 _Where is he, where is he, where is he?!_

She looked around her, behind her.

He was nowhere.

There was a cracking sound above her.

Frisk looked up in time to see a burst of turquoise and the swinging of an axe.

Frisk screeched and tried to bend back to avoid the blade.

She was too late.

There was a horrible pain in her throat as it was sliced open.

Everything seemed to slow as she stood, unable to breath or do anything but choke as blood spurted from the wound.

Dogamy landed heavily beside her as she fell.

"Never underestimate the power of the shadows."

His growl was distant.

Frisk didn't fight the darkness.

She closed her eyes.

 _It's okay, it hurts so bad but it's okay._

The darkness came and the pain faded.

She was floating in the black void again, senses all numbed.

She was weightless, nothing. Everything was black, empty, lifeless.

Frisk awaited the reset.

She felt like she had been in this place a little longer than last time.

It was really quiet here…

Maybe a little peaceful.

Frisk almost liked it…

Part of her wanted to melt into the black...

But something clicked.

 _Why is it not going back to the Save star?_

Frisk tried to move.

Her limbs, her body, felt distant and unattached. But move she did, and she saw her arm in front of her.

It was hazy, like a heavy, heavy fog.

Frisk was intrigued by how the fabric of her sweater was wrapped around her arm, of how her fingers moved. It seemed so oddly mesmerizing now.

She shook herself.

 _Am I losing my mind? Why am I not going back?_

Frisk felt a distant fear worm in her belly.

 _What's happening? I've never been here this long! Why am I not…_

A terrifying thought seized her.

What if she wasn't going back?

What if she only had a few resets?

Frisk was shaken by cold terror.

 _No no no, no… oh no please, I didn't want this. Please…_

She wanted to cry, she felt the sensation, but tears did not form in her eyes.

 _I don't want to leave! I don't want to leave Papyrus and Toriel and Rocky… I don't want to break Asgore's promise… I… I…_

The image of Sans going all the way to Grillby's to give her her coat while she was actively trying to replace him with someone else like a broken toy filled her mind.

 _I don't want to die a scumbag… I want to say sorry, even if he deserved it. I know he deserved it, but it hurts so damn bad! I can't do it…_

Frisk brought her hands up to her face, unable to feel their touch.

 _I'm going to be here forever… I made a mistake. I made I goddamn mistake…_

Frisk tried to sob, and found that this strange realm of existence didn't allow her.

She couldn't help it, her body kept trying.

Then, she suddenly made a sound.

Everything spiraled, and she was left disoriented on the cold ground of Waterfall.

Frisk sucked in a desperate breath, realized she hadn't been breathing in that place. Her cheeks were hot with tears.

 _I-I-I'm b-back… I'm back!_

Frisk sat up and tried taking a couple deep breaths to calm down. Her fingers felt the cold ground, and even though it burned she didn't want to let go.

Her body was quaking.

 _I… I almost… I can't… what if I didn't come back?_

Frisk shuddered.

 _I can't do that again… I was too reckless…_

Frisk recalled something from earlier, something that had left her unnerved.

 _I don't care if you hate my guts, I don't care if you think you can abuse your power. You have no idea. You are not going to die. Even if you think you have unlimited power- which you don't. If I don't have that privilege then you don't either."_ Sans's voiced echoed in her head.

Frisk stiffened with realization.

 _He… he knew, didn't he? That this ability is limited? What if every time I reset I start to lose the ability and one day it won't work?_

Frisk's first reaction was to bristle.

 _How come he didn't tell me! I think that's something you tell someone! I…_

Frisk's anger faded like a cooling ember.

 _I… would I have listened to him then? And… "If I don't have that privilege then you don't either."… what does that mean? Can he reset too? No, I'm sure he can't… what…_

The words gave Frisk a bad feeling and a chill crept up her spine.

Frisk shivered, pulling her legs closer.

 _I should probably move forward… but… but I can't fight Dogamy again!_

Frisk shrunk just thinking about him.

 _He'll kill me… he will kill me again and again till I don't come back…_

She grabbed her head with her hands, shaking beyond control.

 _I don't want to die for good… I'm such a fucking dirty coward, just like Flowey said. I can't do this…_

Frisk let out a dry sob, leaning back against the wall.

 _I can't even go home, I don't have a home anymore… I wouldn't call that hell hole I lived in above ground a home, just an empty shelter… and the skeletons house isn't a home either… I just want it to stop… It hurts…_

Frisk felt her heart increase in pace, until it became unbearable. It felt like her whole world was crumbling down, and she just couldn't bring herself to calm down.

Her eye caught the star beside her.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

… _I n-need… I need to g-get out… of here… I need… to calm down… it will be fine… I just need to get past Dogamy… I don't want to go back, I don't want to see Sans… I just need to go forward… I can run. He's slow, I can run…_

It took Frisk a little while to bring her wits back enough so she could stand.

When she did, she still felt terrible. Her stomach didn't stop rolling and her chest felt constricted. She was still shaking slightly.

Frisk tried to focus on the comforting blue stones.

She nearly collapsed again as she entered the room from before.

 _Okay… I need to get as close as possible… and then run…_

Frisk faced Dogamy.

"So there _is_ a pathetic human roaming about the Underground."

Frisk whimpered, but took another step closer.

Dogamy lifted a brow.

"Huh? You sound more like a scared pup. I admit, I've never seen a human with th-"

Frisk broke out in full sprint, unable to stand it anymore.

She pushed past Dogamy, running as fast as she could despite her leg screaming at the exertion.

Dogamy barked.

"Hey! Get back here, you pile of coyote shit!"

She could hear heavy clunking as Dogamy chased after her.

Frisk felt hard terror choke her and urge her on faster.

She heard the same crackling as before.

Dogamy suddenly leapt from the shadowed wall to her left, swinging his axe.

Frisk left out a scream and kept on running, the blade missing her by a hair.

Frisk turned around a sharp turn, reeling as Dogamy came out of the shadows again.

He seemed to be using some magic to merge with and reappear from the darkest areas of the cave.

Frisk couldn't think, she could just run.

She had to run.

Suddenly something flashed in front of her.

A pair of hands wrapped around her and jerked her roughly aside, into a small, hidden cave.

Frisk opened her mouth to scream, but a hard, boney hand slammed over her mouth and cut off the sound.

She was pulled up close to someone who was huddled in the small space, someone who smelled like ketchup and a soft scent that reminded her of wind on a moor.

She couldn't stop shaking. She couldn't see who had her, she couldn't think.

 _Who is this, let go, I'm going to die, please!_

She tried to struggle, but the person held her tight.

She jammed her bad foot into the wall in her struggles, and she would have yelped in pain if she could.

She heard a sigh above her.

"Stop it or you will hurt yourself. Shush." The deep voice was extremely quiet, and it whispered close to her ear. The breath tickled her ear fur.

She recognized the voice immediately.

 _S-Sans? W…why…_

Frisk stopped struggling, instead peering at the small sliver of light that made its way through the crack she was pulled in.

She could hear barking outside, and heavy footsteps that stomped around nearby. Each thump sent a new wave of terror through her.

"Easy. The snow flowers nearby absorb scent. He can't smell us."

Frisk didn't respond, still trembling.

The footsteps trailed away, followed by a long hound dog like howl.

Sans's grin on her lightened.

"That means he's moving out and calling backup. I think we've lost him. Better stay in here for a bit to be sure, and for goodness sake be quiet!"

Sans let go of her mouth.

Frisk took in a sharp, shaking breath of air.

Then she scrambled away- at least as far away as this place allowed- and glared at him.

Sans stared back.

"Look, I know this is really cramped and you don't like me very much right now, but it's the best shot you've got. You gotta deal with it."

Frisk opened her mouth, then turned away and lowered her head.

She really didn't know what to say.

 _He did it again. He… dammit, I can't do this anymore. I don't know why he does anything and if he goes out of his way like this just because of a promise that really hurts._

Frisk exhaled and wrapped her arms around herself, her ears dropping.

She was just tired.

Sans seemed to notice, and extended his hand towards her. Then he thought better of it and looked away.

Frisk closed her eyes.

Eventually, Sans spoke up.

"I think it's good. Wanna get out?"

Frisk silently moved to the crack and forced her way out.

She would have never noticed this spot before as it blended in well.

Sans followed.

He scanned the surrounding area with the pinpricks of light in his eyes.

Frisk couldn't take her eyes off of him.

She wanted to say something… she had too. She just didn't know what.

"S-Sans?" She forced out. She flinched at how tiny and insignificant she sounded.

Sans put his gaze on her, and she noticed the corners of his mouth turn downward.

"Huh? What is it? You… you haven't looked too good."

Frisk wanted to look away, look at anything else but him.

But she couldn't.

She bit her lip.

"Sans… I… I was wrong about the resets, I-"

She was cut off by a loud, snarling bark.

Frisk jumped, her tail going between her legs.

Sans also snapped towards the noise.

Frisk expected it to be Dogamy…

But it was something else, coming from the opposite direction.

There were four monsters. Two were tall, dangerous looking dog monsters that resembled Doberman. One monster was a stocky dragon-like creature, with silver horns and drab gray scales. The last monster looked like a slim grey cat, with a long tail and large ears. He had two sets of horns on his head, one tiny pair and one pair that curled behind his ears like ram horns. He had one amber and one blue eye.

The lead dog, the one she assumed barked, wore a ripped leather jacket and jeans. The rest were dressed in a similar fashion, like your cliché neighborhood punks.

"Well, well, what's this in the dog bowl?" The dog said in a sickly sweet tone.

Frisk whimpered and moved behind Sans. Any courage she had had left her.

Sans tensed up.

He grinned despite this.

"Well, hello, Thorn, Uno. Treyco. Spike."

The lead dog snorted.

"Heh, Uno, you remember this little guy?"

The second dog nodded, baring his teeth in a dark smile.

"Of course, Thorn. He's the one who protected that big skeleton, acting all high and mighty. He even hit Spike with a bone, remember?"

The dragon growled, its eyes burning.

Thorn smiled, eyeing her.

"And it seems the rumors are true, he's taken a liking to a human. How sweet and noble of the little guy, protecting babies and runts."

Sans didn't move.

Frisk felt foul intention ooze off these guys like a fever.

"Why don't you go do something productive with your time? I'm lazy enough as it is, I don't need another excuse to waste time." Sans said.

Thorn shook his head.

"Naw uh. See, we've come looking here for that scrap of meat behind you. As much as I'd like to chew your sorry bones, I'm more interested in some cash… and a nice flesh toy." The dog snapped the air, making Frisk flinch.

Sans's feet dug a little deeper into the ground.

"Nope. I don't find that very _humerus_ , so back off." Sans's voice held a deep rumbling growl to it.

Frisk cringed and slowly moved out from behind him.

She didn't need him to fight all of her battles… for any reason.

Thorn glared at him. The cat, Treyco, unsheathed his claws.

They all took a step forward. Frisk almost took a step back till Sans flashed her a look.

"I don't have time for your games. Give me the human and you won't get hurt." Thorn ordered.

Sans tilted his head.

"You gonna make me move my lazy ass? No. Leave. If I have to do physical activity to make you leave, you won't like it."

Thorns smile faded.

Uno snapped.

Spike hit the ground with his tail.

"S-Sans…" Frisk could see this was not going well.

"Easy. Don't let them get to you. " Sans said quietly.

"So, you're not leaving?" Thorn asked. "Well, that's a decision you will find affects your health. Get 'em." He tilted his head towards Sans and Frisk.

Uno leaped forward, a snarling whirlwind. Treyco ran up from the side, and Spike hung in the back.

Frisk's eyes widened, and she pulled out her dagger.

 _Oh no… no… They're attacking!_

Sans huffed and she could see his right eye fade. The blue flames burst alive in his left.

A bone materialized in front of Uno and slapped him away midair, and he slammed into the wall.

A group of bones hurtled towards the cat, but he dodged.

Frisk came face to face with the cat as he snarled, raising his claws. His eyes burned with a cold, vengeful fire that chilled her to her core.

Frisk jumped to the side as he slashed the air. The dragon tried to rush her, mouth wide open, but he was smacked aside by another volley of bones.

"Frisk! Stay close to m-"

Sans was cut off as Uno leaped to his feet and tackled the skeleton to the ground.

Spike moved over to the skeleton, who was struggling with the large dog.

"Sans!"

Sans put up his arm as she stepped towards him, and the other monster's soul appeared. It was blue.

Uno yelped as he was flung into the ceiling, rocks cracking and falling.

Treyco came at her again, and Frisk swiveled to avoid another line of claws.

The cat hissed and slashed at her face.

Frisk gasped as the claws slid across her skin, scratching her cheek.

She moved in time to avoid deep gashes, though.

She lashed out with her own nails, hitting the cat square in the face.

The cat wailed and jumped away, one paw holding its face.

As it did, it slammed its other paw into her, sending her crashing to the ground. She scrambled to get up.

Frisk panted and faced the creature, scared but slightly woken up by the sting in her cheek.

She heard a cry ring out behind her.

Frisk turned, her stomach dropping.

Thorn had joint the fray, and it was now Sans verses three.

He didn't seem to be attacking much, but he had limited space to move. Maybe he couldn't attack in such a small, cornered space.

Frisk glanced from between him and the cat.

 _He needs… dammit!_

Frisk jumped at the cat like she was going to attack, then turned last second and barreled into Spike with her shoulder. The hard scales of the dragon hurt, but she managed to push him away.

Sans's eye flashed and more bones appeared, hitting the others, including the cat.

Frisk realized Sans was bleeding in many spots, and he was covered in dirt.

She opened her mouth to ask if he was okay…

When an arm wrapped around her throat and pulled her head back.

Sans's eyes widened as she was pulled back, a furry arm squeezing her neck so hard she could only manage small, wheezing breaths.

Her heart slammed her rib cage.

She could feel claws against the sensitive skin.

"Checkmate, skeleton. You know, it was always said you could do so much better. Are you rusty, or are you just too lazy to try to save your pet?" Thorn growled.

Frisk couldn't breath. She tried to pry his hand away from her throat with her free hand.

Her other hand held the dagger, but…

Sand took a step forward.

"Tsk, don't do that. I'm sure you wouldn't want to see her pretty little throat go bye bye right here, would you?"

Sans growled, his eye twitching.

Frisk opened her mouth, a strangled wheeze escaping.

 _Sans, please…_

Her chest hurt.

Black edged her vision.

"Let go. She can't breathe." Sans said flatly.

"Oh, what a shame! Humans need to breathe? Well, let's do how long they can do without, shall we?"

Frisk felt the arm tighten.

She felt light.

 _I need to, I need to, I need to stab him, he doesn't know I have the dagger, I need to…_

Frisk used the last of her strength to take the blade and burry it into the dog behind her.

The feeling of the blade sinking into skin was sickening.

Thorn yelped and jumped into the air, letting go.

Frisk jumped away, coughing and pulling her blade with her.

Blood coated the blade and splattered across the icy ground.

Thorn stumbled back, holding the wound. His face was contorted with rage, truly monstrous.

"How. DARE. You! I'll kill you!" Saliva and blood flew from his mouth.

Frisk looked up in horror as the dog flew toward her, mouth wide open.

She closed her eyes, her legs freezing in place.

She swung her arm, the only reaction she had.

She felt skin tear and hot, sticky liquid gush forth.

Thorn crashed into her, taking her to the ground. But he didn't move.

The dog twitched violently, his eyes wide and glassy. Blood and foam bubbled at his mouth as crimson leaked from his neck.

Frisk looked up in absolute terror and horror, her insides twisting. She scratched at the frozen floor to get away.

Uno whimpered.

"Oh… oh my god… she killed him! She killed him! She killed my brother!" The dog howled, before running off.

Spike and Treyco stared at their dead leader, trembling.

Sans's eye sockets were wide, without lights.

He turned to the two remaining.

"Leave. Now."

They followed their dog friend without another word.

Frisk dropped her blade, and it hit the floor with a clang.

The body before her twitched one last time before turning to a pile of dust, blood, and clothes.

Frisk was shaking like she had never shaken before.

She couldn't get her mind off of the blood coating her hand, of the feeling…

 _Oh my god… oh my god…_

Her breathing scraped her injured throat with its frequency, and she collapsed to the floor, eyes wide and unfocused.

 _It's happening again… it feels like I'm having a heart attack…_

Her body was trembling beyond belief, and her head felt pressured, like it could pop at any second. There was a loud ringing in her ears.

"H-hey, Snap Pea? You okay? Frisk?"

Sans voice was distant, but she looked over at him anyways.

He was hurt. He got hurt defending her. She would have thought she wanted him to get hurt after what he did… but the pain tripled.

She looked away, the tears spilling over for the second time that day.

"I-I'm s-sorry… I'm sorry… I didn't mean it, I didn't mean… I'm sorry…I… I should have never snapped at you, I shouldn't have gotten mad at you, I…" her words slurred out like water from a broken dam.

Sans inched a little closer.

"Hey, calm down. You didn't mean anything, and I deserved you being mad. Hell, I deserved a lot worse. Just… I want to talk, but you need to try to calm down."

Frisk shut her eyes as hard as she could trying to make everything go away.

"S-Sans… I… I made a mistake… I made a mistake… and I made more than one…"


	20. Chapter 18- Howling with the Wolves

" _S-Sans… I… I made a mistake… I made a mistake… and I made more than one…"_

Frisk's voice shook almost as much as her body did.

She couldn't see, couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Her head and heart were going to explode and she just wanted it to _stop._

"Frisk. You've gotta calm down. I don't know much about humans but I'm pretty sure this ain't good for 'ya." Sans kept his voice low. He came a little closer.

Frisk didn't hear him in her bubble of agony.

Sans hung right next to her, unsure of what to do.

Sans tried putting his hand on her shoulder, then pulled it away when she violently flinched.

Sans took a breath.

"Hey, listen to me. Can you hear me, Frisk?"

Frisk didn't respond.

Sans sighed.

"Here goes nothin'. Cm'ere."

Frisk felt Sans wrap his arms around her and pull her into his chest.

Frisk flinched, but didn't resist. She didn't want to do _anything_ anymore but make her chest stop hurting and relieve the pressure in her head.

She started to say one thing, then another, and she ended up spewing out inaudible sentences.

"You need to calm down." Sans gave her a light shake. "You need to breathe."

Frisk curled into herself, sharp sobs cutting through her body.

"I killed him… I killed… I'm sorry I'm sorry…" Frisk couldn't stop the words spilling from her mouth, especially when she glanced up and saw the pile of dust from Thorn.

Sans turned to glance at the pile, his eye lights flashing.

She felt his bones tighten under his jacket.

Then he turned her away from the pile.

"Don't worry him right now. We can talk about everything later, just focus on calming down." Sans's voice was a little tight, revealing his own unease.

Frisk couldn't stop sobbing, and everything was spinning. She felt light, like she could be blown away by even the lightest breeze. She unconsciously leaned into Sans, his rib bones jutting through his shirt.

"I'm sorry Sans… I'm so sorry… I-I can't… can't b-breathe… why'd it have to be me, whydidithavetobeme…" Frisk broke off into incoherent rambling again, body quaking. Her tail was tucked so tightly against her body it could merge with it.

Sans hesitated before bringing his hand up to her head, resting it there.

"Just breathe, you…can do it. Cm'on, just listen to me. Focus on my voice."

Frisk swallowed, her world feeling like it could pop at any time.

"That's it… listen to me. Just listen to me. Breathe." Sans's voice got much softer, softer than she had ever heard it.

She couldn't think about it now, though. She was naturally drawn to it, like her body was trying anything to find a reprieve. Pressed against his chest, she could feel his bones rumbling as he spoke. It drew her attention away from the painful pounding in her head.

Sans was running his hand from the top of her head, down to the middle of her back in long, soothing strokes. She could hardly feel it- he seemed almost reluctant to touch her.

"Yes, good… you're doing okay… just breathe, nice and slow. Yeah…" Sans himself seemed to relax a little.

Frisk was slowly regaining control, but her vision kept getting darker and darker. She was so _tired._

She didn't fight it.

She closed her eyes and let her body go limp.

…

(Sans POV)

 _Damn, this is all just a huge mess._

Sans looked down. The human had passed out-finally. Better than looking like she was going to implode.

Sans had no idea what to do, much less what these kind of things did to a human.

He knew that under extreme trauma, a monsters soul could sustain damage. It would crack, or start going dark. Their souls were so weak that powerful emotions could effect the soul, and it's often to see a monster sustain damage after a panic attack, or extreme grief.

But Sans knew human souls were stronger. Did emotions carry over?

Sans sucked in air, closing his eyes.

 _I hate messes, so bothersome to clean up._

This was all reminding him of his own experiences far too much for his liking.

Sans turned to look at the ashes. It was hard to believe that the snarling mongrel that had just been near the top of his "I would kill but I'm a lazy ass" list was now a pile of dust.

It scared him, to some degree.

The human was dangerous after all.

There goes that argument.

Sans leaned over and looked at his arm, flinching.

The younger brother had torn up his jacket, specifically the right arm. The top of his arm was mauled, pieces of bone missing and large gashes spread across the white surface. These were scars, however. Actually, he had less injuries than he would have thought.

Just the sight of the scars made him shiver.

He pulled down his sleeve, looking away.

Sans looked back down at the human, trying to distract himself.

She seemed fine besides a few scratches, and being a little chilly to the touch.

Sans weighed his options. He didn't want to use a shortcut after being in a fight. And the nearest shortcut was a ways away- it would be a huge pain to carry the human all the way there.

And he _did_ happen to have stuff stored on the inter-dimensional box of his phone, stuff Papyrus made him store in case of an emergency.

For once he was happy Papyrus pushed his lazy ass.

Sans pulled out his phone, swiping away countless notifications from Undernet.

Papyrus didn't seem to like his puns very much, heh.

He went into his contacts and called his brother, snickering at the contact name he had given him.

Those, however, would be kept to himself for various reasons.

"Yes? Who is calling the great Papyrus?" A voice boomed from the other side. He sounded so hopeful.

"Me." Sans said with a weary grin.

"Oh." That was the sound of all of Papyrus's hopes and dreams being crushed. "It's you, brother."

"You don't sound very thrilled to hear me." Sans commented.

"I'm just a little disappointed, I thought it was someone cool."

"Hello I'm just a little disappointed, I'm Sans. And, hey, that's not very nice."

Sans could hear a sharp intake of breath on the other side of the phone.

"Hey, before you yell my name, I've got somethin' important." Sans interrupted.

"Must be, since you bothered to call me."

"I'm out here pretty far into Waterfall. You know Thorn's gang? They just attacked the human and I. And, uh, things didn't... Go well..."

"WHAT? ARE YOU TWO OKAY?!"

"Yeah Pap, we're fine. Just a few scratches. But I'm gonna camp out here for tonight."

"I could come get you!" Papyrus proposed.

"No." Sans said immediately. "I don't want you going out here yourself. His guys are still out there. We'll be fine. Besides, I'm sure Frisky will be mad if she woke up back at our house yet again."

There was a few moments of silence.

"Oh, alright brother. If you insist. Though, I really am worried. That bully Thorn needs to be taught a lesson! I shall get Undyne so we can do that!"

Sans's eyes went dark.

"Uh, that won't be needed. He's… taken care of. You won't be seeing him… ever again."

"Huh? What do you mean brother?"

Sans looked back at the dust.

This was to be kept between the wolves.

"Nothin, he's just not coming back. He learned his lesson."

 _Permanently._ Sans added.

"Ok! I'm glad to hear it! Be safe, okay brother? I'm worried for the two of you. I know… you two have been fighting, and you haven't been yourself. Maybe you can set aside your differences and talk?"

Sans looked off to the side.

"….yeah, maybe…."

"You never talk. About anything, brother. I know how you can get. And it worries me."

"Don't be. I'm fine." Sans's voice lowered.

"You always say that, brother. But I think you would benefit if you would trust someone and talked. Even if it's not me, the Great Papyrus only wishes for your well-being."

Sans sighed.

"Yeah yeah, alright. I think I'll go now."

"Ok. Be sure to call if you need anything! The Great Papyrus would be there in no time!"

"Sure. Love ya Pap."

"I love you too, Brother."

Sans pulled the phone away from his ear(hole) and clicked the "end" button. The phone let out a cheerful beep before going back to the homescreen.

Sans leaned back, letting his grin fade.

"Huh, s'real tiring. Everything is, nowadays." Sans huffed.

He then looked back down at the human. He gently put the back of his hand against her cheek to check how cold she was.

"You're cold to the bone there, heh." Sans chuckled emptily.

 _Kinda like me, I guess._

 _Sans, you are a worthless piece of trash. Doesn't give a shit about anything and just uses people for gain, too lazy too care._

 _I still don't know why I'm being given another chance, but… maybe I should take it. But I need to check her soul to make sure everything's in check._

Sans turned to Frisk, and let his right eye fade. His left eye ignited.

He felt a familiar rush, and a flash beside him.

A ghostly white form materialized beside him.

Of course, only he could see this creature.

A pair of blue eyes peered back at him from pale white fur, patched by splotches of black.

Sans then took Frisk's soul into his grip.

"Alllllright, let's see here."

His eye flashed silver.

Frisk's soul turned a sparkling silver, without any resistance.

"Huh, you really are a MB." Sans said to himself.

There was a white haze around her soul. It started to take the form of something, an animal.

A faint wolf soon formed around her soul, a ghost just like the one beside him.

It was a magnificent beast, with pure white fur. A single black paw was the only impurity.

The wolves eyes were a brilliant, sparkling green. It's eyes widened, and the ghost floated up and down, staring at him in wonder.

 _I can't believe she hasn't activated the silver trait yet. Welp, there ya go. She really is pretty innocent, she was pure white until that happened. Welp, guess I helped her, didn't I? Her soul looks fine though._

Sans let go of Frisk's soul, and let his magic fade. Both ghosts faded, as did Frisk's soul.

Sans sighed and turned to the pile of dust.

"Time to take out the trash."

…

Frisk shot up, confused.

 _Where's Sans?!_

She didn't really process anything prior, and now all of her senses came back like a truck. She was cold, but lying on a green sleeping bag. Heat came off of a fire not to far away, the flames casting shadows on the wall. She caught sight of a familiar skeleton sitting on the other side, munching on half of one of Grillby's long sandwiches that reminded her of subway.

She couldn't remember _anything_ at the moment, she just felt disoriented. She stared blankly at Sans.

He stared back.

"Heya. I see you're up."

"Sans?"

"Yeah, that's my name. Don't wear it out."

Slowly, everything started coming back.

Frisk looked down and wrapped her tail around herself.

Something brushed against her arm, though when she looked up nothing was there.

She looked back down, ignoring it.

 _Probably just my sins, huh. I can't Believe…._

"Hey, Snap Pea. You got something you need to talk about? Cause I think you do." Sans spoke up from across the… cavern. It looked like a little dead end from the main path, she didn't know.

Frisk cringed.

"Please… don't call me that…"

"Oh. Why? You were fine with it before."

"That was before. Any of this happened. I just can't magically forgive you after… that." Frisk focused on a small pebble, trying to think.

 _Why did he do that? Back then…_

Even though she wasn't looking at the skeleton, she knew he recoiled.

"… I get ya… but… I would've thought you'd… have cooled down by now, ya'know?"

"I am." Frisk replied. "But… I'm still hurt." She looked up at him almost expectantly.

Sans avoided her gaze.

"I… I don't know what to tell you, Pu-Frisk. I…" Sans closed his eyes.

"Being a judge, I've got to be honest with myself. I know what I did and I am not going to try to excuse it, whether it be out of integrity or laziness. I _did_ make a promise, more because I was just too damn lazy to say no. I would have killed you if it weren't for that."

Frisk's eyes began to burn, and she grabbed the hem of her sweater in a tight fist.

Sans seemed to notice this.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but It's the truth. The truth isn't always pretty, and the lie isn't ugly. I didn't care. I did look at it like a job. Actually, I was pretty fuckin' annoyed and suspicious of you at first. Of course, Scummy Sansy is a pretty good actor. I did use you to try to get my answers to the resets. That's how it was. Sorry that hurts, but there's nothing else I can say."

Frisk tried to will the tears to go away- she had already knew everything- but they fell anyways. Maybe it was the full impact of the pain, maybe it was the first time she really sat down and forced the truth down her throat, maybe it was hearing it from him. She brought her hand up to her face, distantly noting she had been crying a lot recently.

She could feel Sans's eyes boring holes into her soul.

"I'm sorry…" he sounded so hopeless.

"I really am pathetic, aren't I?" Frisk said with a wet chuckle. A tiny, broken smile made its way onto her lips.

"I'm so weak and naïve. I never thought for a second that it wasn't real. I never thought I could kill someone. I never thought about my own consequences. And now…" Frisk paused, trying to push back a sob. "I'm just broken. And from what? Myself. Because I can't do anything, I can't even have a little power without screwing it up. I can't be mad at you anymore. I can't be mad at _anyone_ anymore… but me… and now I'm crying about something I thought I had already gotten over." even she could hear the weariness in her own voice.

 _Pathetic._

Sans was quiet.

"… Frisk… I said that's how it _was,_ didn't I? Remember, I said I needed to be honest. And that…"

She could hear him swallow, and he seemed hesitant.

"I tried to stay unattached. To not care. But like I've said many times, I'm lazy. So I let my guard down. And everything I did, all the things I said… it started to be genuine. I really at one point stopped looking at being friends with you as a chore. I started to look forward to it. I tried denying it, but I really… it… it wasn't all fake, you know… later on. And after all that was when I really got kicked in the face by reality. I was just too lazy _not_ to care, and then I did care. Sucks that when I realized I didn't want you to die was when you were dying on my couch, huh?" His voice was dry, the last bit filled with hollow humor.

Frisk had stopped crying, staring straight ahead, absorbing the information.

"It was a promise at first. But it turned into something else, and that's how it's gonna stay. Even if you never forgive me and hate me, I'm gonna be there. Because I couldn't stand it if I weren't. It's not a promise to a friend anymore, it's a promise to _you._ And hey, I hate makin' promises, but when you're me you're too lazy to say no, right?"

Frisk couldn't make words. Her throat felt tight, and she felt like she would wake up and find this a dream.

But a part of her told her this is the logical thing, that this was reality.

Something came to mind, and she snapped out of her daze.

"Sans… y-you… you knew, didn't you." Her voice was so quiet she almost didn't hear it herself, but she knew Sans could with his amazing hearing.

"Knew what?" He tilted his head.

"Why did you save me, on multiple occasions. After you knew I could reset. Why did you say you wouldn't let me die?" Frisk's words shook.

"I…" Sans fidgeted. "Your resets… I know from research I did with da-an old buddy of mine that resets from death are… unstable. They are powered by fear and Determination, things this go kinda hand in hand for the purpose of this effect. If one is scared of death, like normal folk should be, they will usually work fine. But if someone wants to die and is determined to do so… they won't die. It's when they are numb, when they don't have determination, when it gets dangerous. Weariness, long term depression, death by sickness or something else over a course of time… the resets have an increased state of failing in these conditions. And, due to their unstable nature, they may just fail randomly. Each death is a gamble, and the timeline won't always bend backwards. You need to be careful, Frisk… especially… with the way you were talking… you really scared me, back there. With how you were talking. Never, ever talk like that again." His eyes went black, and he looked more serious than she had ever seen him.

Frisk shrunk.

Everything made sense now.

"Oh… my god… so I really just… that was so close…" Frisk felt a shiver creep through her body.

Sans had moved a little closer, to her side of the fire. He still kept his distance, though.

"What?" He asked.

She forced herself to look up at him.

"Dogamy killed me before… and I went with it. And I… it was black for a long time… I got so scared… that I wouldn't come back… that I wouldn't see you or Pap or Tori or Rocky ever again…" the memory of floating in that void, feeling so detached and alone, was filling her with terror.

She didn't want to go back to that place.

She heard Sans make a hissing sound. He looked conflicted. She could tell he didn't like the reset factor.

"I… well, I guess you learned. I… uh… don't know what to say… but I guess resetting from death is one thing, resetting normally is another. So… I'm not… mad at you, per say."

"What? Normally? What's normally?" Frisk was hit with a wave of curiosity.

This wasn't normal?

Sans looked surprised.

"Huh? Normally, like… any time you aren't dying. Voluntary resets."

Frisk blinked.

"I only reset when I die, what… are you saying dying purposefully?"

"You… don't know anything about resetting the timeline. Without dying?"

"No…"

He suddenly looked a little frightened, his eye lights growing a little bigger.

"You've never, ever reset without dying? Every time you've reset, you did so not yourself but it was brought upon by your death?"

Frisk stared at him like he grew a new head.

"…yeah… I can't reset without dying. At least, I don't think I can. I never even thought about being able to do that."

Sans had put his head in his hands.

Frisk leaned forwards, concerned.

"Sans? What?"

He looked up. His eyes sagged with guilt, but he had a slight grin. Whether it was humor or relief she couldn't tell.

"You aren't the anomaly I've been looking for. If what you say is true, anyways."

Frisk's ear twitched.

"…huh?"

Sans stared at his hands.

"You. Aren't. The. Anomaly. You are A anomaly, not THE Anomaly. THE anomaly has reset the timeline without dying over and over. So this big fight, it was all started for abso-fuckin-lutley nothing. So you didn't have to know the truth, I didn't have to be an ass… dear fucking heavens kill me now. This was all fucking pointless."

Sans rolled over onto the ground and curled into a ball.

Frisk looked up at the wall.

Wow.

"That… doesn't change the fact that you are an asshole." Frisk said after awhile.

Sans looked up.

"We've always known this though. But I guess it's nice the truth is out…though it would've been less painful if it wasn't. If we kept going. I would've realized that I was genuine, you wouldn't know a thing, we all live happily and dance in flowers. I hate myself." Sans had the tone of someone who just drove 30 miles looking for a doughnut shop that ended up being right down the block.

Frisk narrowed her eyes.

"Sans… so you wouldn't have told me anything? If that were the case?"

Sans sobered.

"… to be honest, I don't know. Heh, I missed a pun there. But… I've done that my whole life. It's just worked out better for me." Sans averted his gaze.

The fire was still crackling, and she noticed it must be magic due to the lack of firewood.

"…hmmm… hey, Sans? Back when you told me you wouldn't let me die, you… said something that's stuck with me. That you wouldn't let me make the same mistake you did. It's just bothered me. Did you… have the ability to reset, or something? No, then you would… could you explain."

Sans recoiled like he just stuck his hand in a hot flame and sat up.

"I…" his hand went to grab his upper right arm, and something about that struck Frisk as odd as well. She couldn't explain why.

She could've sworn for a second she saw a white flash, right behind him.

"I can't really explain that. No, I was never able to reset. You need DETERMINATION for that, and I'm a monster. Can't have too much of that. But I can't explain that. Just take it for as it is."

He let go of his arm.

Frisk sighed, looking down.

 _If I didn't know what to think before, I definitely d-_

A figure caught her eye, something that seemed to be bringing her eyes back to his arm. She couldn't make it out, but it seemed… familiar, somehow.

That's when she realized that his arm looked like it was mauled by some sort of rabid animal.

"Sans! Your arm! It…"

Sans jumped and covered it.

"It's old, don't worry about it."

"It doesn't look old. The sleeves all torn, and you're hurt elsewhere. Are you su-"

"I said. Don't. Worry. About. It. Unless you want to have a bad time." To her terror, a small blue flame engulfed his left eye, while his right faded.

Frisk scrambled back.

"Okay, o-okay… I'm… sorry…"

Sans snapped back, guilty.

"I… I'm sorry. I'm just sensitive 'bout it, Kay? Hey, I saved you half a sandwich." Sans leaned over and grabbed the half of sub, holding it up.

The thought of food made Frisk feel sick.

"No… thanks. I'm not hungry."

"Hey, come on. You're going to be doing a lot of walking tomorrow, and you need food. Not to mention you still need to watch your weight after that infection. Need to keep some Meat on those bones, eh?"

Frisk growled softly.

She couldn't stop the warmth that lodged into her chest.

It made her feel that much worse.

She closed her eyes. He was honest about everything, it was time she was too.

"Sans?"

"Eat. The. Sandwich."

"Wait… I need to tell you… that even though you're- or at least weren't- my friend, I… is still missed you… really bad. I tried to fill it up with another friend, but I… I don't know if I can ever fully forgive you, but… I can't…" Frisk closed her eyes, her throat going tight.

"I can't keep doing this… even if it's not real, even if you secretly hate me… I just can't… not after…" she trailed off.

She heard the rustling of fabric.

She yelped as she was pulled without a warning. Sans brought her into a lose hug.

She could fell he was a little uncomfortable himself by the stiffness of his bones, but… she could smell the ketchup on him, as well as the weird windy scent. It reminded her of a rainy moor.

"It's okay, alright? You've got a friend now. A lazy, asshole suffer lump friend, but… hey, ya' got what ya' got, right? I'm just gonna trust that if you do find out how to reset voluntarily, you won't, okay? That's all I ask… "

Part of Frisk wanted to pull away…

But her weariness of everything won her over.

She let herself relax and she closed her eyes once again.

"Okay…"

She could feel him slowly relax with relief.

Maybe things could be fixed after all.

...

Frisk blinked wearily, sleep hanging on her eyes.

She was asleep?

She didn't remember falling asleep.

She remembered arguing over the sandwich some more after… that. That's all she could remember. All of the latest events must have left her more worn out than she thought.

She was a little chilly, the price of sleeping in the middle of a iced cave. Her tail was in max fluff mode due to the cold. Well.

She sat up, wincing at the stiffness of her back. The sleeping bag didn't do much to help anything.

She realized she was on top of the bag, with another sheet over her.

Huh.

The only sound she could hear was light snoring too her right. She recognized that snore from anywhere.

 _Sans…_

She turned over to him, ears twitching.

He was curled up on the bare floor with his sleeping bag covering his lower half and another blanket sprawled out beside him.

 _Kinda defeated the purpose of the tools, didn't you? You are such a lazy ass…_

She smiled and closed her eyes.

Her smile quickly faded.

Her tail began to twitch.

 _Yesterday… I… I killed that guy… Thorn, was it? Someone's gonna find out… and Dogamy knows who I am, he will suspect me. I'm in a lot of trouble…_

 _Not that I shouldn't be. I killed someone._ She added the last part bitterly.

How could she _kill_ someone?

She had always thought that she could do it, that it would just happen and be over with. That once it was done it was done. But she could still see the image of the dogs twitching body, his eyes wide and glazed. Seeing nothing as his life bleed from his throat. She could still feel a weight on her soul.

She didn't like the feeling.

She grabbed her pant leg tightly.

 _The past is the past, even if I have the ability to reset. I can't use that ability, I've got to try my hardest not too. Because Sans said it could fail anytime. It's not fair… why do I get the ability to cheat death? It's not fair to anyone…_

Her muscles tensed.

She felt a light nudge to her shoulder.

She turned, a little frightened. She became even more frightened when a pair of green eyes stared back at her.

She yelped and stumbled back, but as she did whatever it was vanished.

Frisk could hear Sans moving from where he was.

"Uuuuuuggghhhhhhhh, whhaaaaaah?"

Frisk looked at him, then at the spot where the creature just was.

Was it a Dogamy?

No, those eyes were… oddly familiar.

"Something was there! It disappeared, but it was… you're not listening, are you?" Frisk's eye twitched in annoyance.

"Mmmhm."

Frisk sighed and crossed her arms.

"You are so hopeless." She said more to herself than anybody.

"Gimme news I haven't heard." Sans groaned, sitting up. He had that stupid grin again.

Frisk huffed and ran her hand over her hair. It was stiff from the chill but not too messy. Good.

What she really needed to worry about was her tail, she realized. Looking down at it, the fur was pretty scrambled. She was sure they there were plenty knots, as she never brushed her tail- why would she? However, the messiness bothered her now.

Sans yawned from his spot, stretching. She could hear his bones crack into place.

"So, ya gonna eat the sandwich now?"

Frisk rolled her eyes. Not this again.

"Noooo. Now it's frozen solid."

"No, I stored it in the ID box."

"ID box?" Frisk tilted her head.

Sans scratched his head.

"Yeah, Inter-Dimensional Box. Got it on my phone from Alphys. It can store stuff in a small little dimensional space by scanning. S'real neat. Where'd ya think I got all this stuff, I couldn't have carried it _and_ saved your tail." Sans motioned to the fire-kit (which had stopped burning) and the blankets and sleeping bags.

Frisk shrugged.

"Didn't think about it. That sounds really cool."

Sans leaned back against the wall.

"Yeah. Tori gave you a phone, right? You'll probably be going to Alphys's before Blizzardland, so… I'll have her install one for you."

Frisk ran her fingers over her ear.

"Thanks… what's Alphys like, anyways? She sounds like a good friend of you and Papyrus."

Sans seemed to tense a little.

"She's… an old friend. Don't talk too much anymore, me an' her. But Paps does a lot though, considering her and Undyne are pretty close. She's… real shy and nerdy. Heh, I think you two will get along just fine." Sans winked.

"I'm not nerdy…" Frisk countered.

"Say whatever to make yo'self feel better cupcakes, but I see all those books you read. Seriously, how can someone read so much?"

"How can someone sleep so much?" Frisk replied, looking away. He was right about the books…

"I go into a dormant state to prevent unneeded energy loss in the case the word falls to ruin and I am called upon to save it from destruction."

Frisk rolled her eyes and folded the blanket in her lap.

It felt… weird to be having a normal conversation with him after what happened. It was just like before, really…

Frisk shook her head.

 _It can't be like before. No matter how much I want it._

Sans was staring at her with those damn eyes that seemed to see past her skin every time.

"Hey… so, you wanna go soon?"

"Yeah… I guess."

"Ok. Do you wanna go the long way? Dogamy might be there. Or the short way? It's a little… rougher."

"I'll go wherever there are no killer dogs." Frisk responded bitterly.

Sans stood up.

"S'settled then. Gimme your sleeping bag and whatever else, I'll put it in the ID Box."

…

Frisk trailed a safe distance behind Sans.

She liked being behind him so she could see his every move. She felt safer that way.

However, with him, she couldn't stop to listen to the echo flowers. It was slightly irritating.

He seemed to enjoy this fact.

Eventually she had to pee.

She would never hear the end of it from Sans.

"What, did you have to mark your new territory or somethin'?"

"Sans, shut up."

"No need to get all huffy."

"I wouldn't make fun of you for needing to go to the bathroom… no matter how weird that is."

"You just did. You said it's weird."

"You know what I mean! It's kinda true and you know it, being a skeleton."

"Stop being racist to skeletons."

Frisk groaned and slapped her face.

She'd never win.

Other than that exchange, everything was quiet. Sans didn't really try talking to her that much, which she was grateful for. She basked in the silent peace, though it was different with Sans here.

But he was her ticket to getting through without being skinned, so she wasn't complaining.

Eventually they went off the main path, into a small dark path.

It was extremely hard to see. There were no lights inside. Frisk let out a small whine, grabbing the wall.

"Oh calm down. You're a wolfo, you will be fine."

Frisk bristled.

"I'm not a literal wolf! I can't see in the dark!"

Sans sighed.

"Funny how you have technically six senses and when one gets taken away you forget about all the others. It's just one piece you Lost, you've still got the rest of em' on the board."

Frisk's ears pricked.

Somehow… he made a valid point.

"I'm still nervous… what if Doga-"

"Dogamy would have trouble fitting in here with his axe. You are fine. Come on."

Frisk had no choice but to follow when Sans began walking.

She kept her hand on the wall, moving a little too fast for her liking. But she didn't want to lose Sans.

She could see almost nothing, and her only sign of Sans's presence was his footsteps and his windy scent.

It was weird, now that she thought about it. She could smell better than usual. Did something get knocked into place yesterday?

Frisk let out a sigh of relief as they came out, into a small clearing. One side was blocked by a huge sheet of ice. Judging by the worn ground, it used to be a part of the main path before being blocked off.

Off in one corner was an old statue. It was made of stone, a hooded figure with horns looking down at something it used to hold in its arms. Part of the statue seemed broken, pieces of stone scattered on the floor. There seemed to be a hole above it, shedding white light onto the stone. Snow fell from the hole, covering the statue.

The statue made her heart skip a beat. Something about it seemed… important.

She pointed at it.

"Sans, what's that?"

Sans followed her finger.

"Huh? That? That's an old statue that's been here for as long as I can remember. I dunno why. Don't even know what it is."

Sans started walking again. Frisk glanced between him and the statue before following.

Up ahead was a container filled with umbrellas. Frost clung to them like cobwebs.

Snow fell from above, covering the floor.

Frisk looked at the umbrellas, deep in thought.

Sans noticed she stopped.

"What? They're umbrellas. From forever ago when it wasn't as cold all the time."

There was a white flash by the umbrellas. It didn't startle her this time. She had the feeling it would happen…

She walked over to the container and grabbed one.

"Hold on, I'll be right back." Frisk told him before jogging back.

"Ugh, what are you doing?" Sans groaned.

She stopped by the statue, staring at it.

 _It's just a statue, but… I feel… this is the right thing, even if it's… silly…_

Frisk lodged the umbrella in the wall by the statue and let it open.

It covered the statue, saving it from the snow.

Sans stopped beside her.

"Are you kidding me? You really are-" Sans stopped.

Frisk's eyes widened.

She turned to him.

"Do you hear that?" She asked quietly.

It was a small, twinkling sound. It sounded from the statue, and slowly turned louder.

It was a music box.

It was quiet and serene, the sound sent pleasant tingles up her spine and her scalp.

She felt her ears fall back and a smile creep into her face.

Her tail began to wag softly.

Sans let out air beside her.

"Wow… who would've ever thought… looks like your weirdness paid off, eh?"

Frisk was in a trance, and his words fell on deaf ears.

The music was… so relaxing.

She sat against the wall, utterly happy. Everything just melted away…

Sans chuckled.

"You really like that, huh? Welp, guess we've got no choice but to stay for a bit."

Sans grunted and sat beside her.

Frisk closed her eyes.

The sound was just so nice…

Sans elbowed her.

"Hey, you gonna fall asleep now? Come on, we just got up an hour ago. I'm not rubbing off on you, am I?"

Frisk ignored him.

She was feeling drowsy…

Sans sighed.

"You're not listening, are ya? Fiiiinnnneee…"

Frisk didn't try to fight the wave of comfort that came with the dark. The last thing she felt was something warm over her before she let herself fall asleep to the music box's melody.

…

 _There were flowers everywhere. Of all colors, a beautiful rainbow of blossoms. The grass was emerald green, soft. It was night, yet a large moon lit the world with a silver light. The stars were large and bright and brilliant in the night sky._

 _She was running. Grass tickled her paws and the sweet scent of the flowers bathed her muzzle._

 _Another wolf ran beside her, splotched with black. His tongue hang from his mouth, black and white eyes closed in happiness._

 _They ran and ran… never tiring. Past a moonlit stream gurgling through the field, past little twisted trees._

 _Eventually, they stopped. They stopped and looked up, up at the moon._

 _She felt a connection, a pull. She was the moon, and the moon was her._

 _She tipped her head back and let the howl pour from her throat, and the wolf beside her joined._

 _Their voices filled the night, echoing across the valley. Their voices joined them with the moon, and nothing could compare to the feeling of touching her silver surface with voice alone._

 _Soon, they stopped._

 _The wolf beside her glanced at her playfully before running, beckoning her to follow him._

 _She let out a yelp and burst to her feet to follow._

…

Frisk's eyes fluttered open, surprised to see the stone and snow.

She felt… funny.

The music box was still going, playing the same tune.

She smiled happily and listened to it.

 _I fell asleep, huh. That was… a nice dream. I was… a wolf?_

She noticed there was a blanket around her shoulders.

She looked at it curiously.

 _Sans must've taken it out…_

She looked over at the skeleton.

He was sleeping now too, looking rather peaceful. She realized she never seen that look on his face…

She scratched her ear.

 _I'm not the only one who likes the box, huh? Sans…_

Did she already forgive him?

She had forgiven him a long time ago.

She didn't want to trust him fully, but she unconsciously acted like they were still close friends.

Frisk looked down.

 _I… I can't help it, I guess… and besides, he said he does care… he didn't at first, but he does now. So do I really need to worry? Why do I care about that in the first place… that's what I should be asking… why do I care so much about him caring? Hmmm…_

A yawn cut off Frisk's thoughts.

She looked over slowly.

Sans was now awake.

"Hrrrrnnnn… oh, hey."

Frisk held up the corner of the blanket.

"Oh, I took it back out so you didn't freeze. You can't just fall asleep in the middle of a frozen cave, ya'know." Sans grinned.

Frisk shook her head.

"Like you should talk."

Sans took the blanket and turned, clicking his phone on.

"Hey, have sweet dreams?"

"Huh?" Frisk jumped a little.

Sans gave her the shit-eating grin.

"You seemed to be having fun. You were all twitching and smiling. You legit looked like one of those dogs running in their sleep. It was pretty funny."

Frisk pouted and looked away, frowning. Her cheeks burned.

 _Stupid Sans watching me in my stupid sleep well you're creepy you stupid stupid stupid…_

"Calm down, clam-calm down."

Frisk burst out laughing.

"You just said clam down!"

Sans elbowed her again.

"Oh shush. This is one of the reasons I hate clams. Bleh." Sans stuck his blue tongue out.

"You hate clams?" Frisk asked.

"I hate most seafood, actually. Yuck. That shits cat food, they can have it." Sans waved his hand dismissively.

"Honestly, I think you would be used to eating anything, living with Papyrus. No offense. I'm not very picky anymore… as long as it isn't spicy or bitter… or sour… ok, maybe I am still a little picky."

"I'll eat anything other than seafood. I'll eat carrion, even. Papyrus knows better than to make seafood, with what happened last time." Sans made a face.

"I always thought you were too lazy to throw a temper tantrum." Frisk pointed out, slowly standing up.

She felt at ease and calm. That music box couldn't be normal.

Sans followed her lead and stood up as well.

"I can throw a lazy tantrum. So no seafood." Sans stretched his back.

Frisk stared at him.

"… only you would come up with lazy tantrum. I'm not gonna ask."

Sans took a few steps ahead.

"Well, up ahead is an open area. It's… kinda rough. There's a tight concentration of magic in that open area, and it sends the wind and snow wild. The winds are really, really strong, so you've gotta be ready. K?" Sans looked back at her.

Frisk shrugged.

"Sure, it's just wind."

"You'll see." Sans lead the way.

The snow was nice and calm for the next two minutes. Ice puddles were frozen on the floor. A few tiny echo flowers dotted the areas where they were safe from the snow.

Soon, Frisk noticed a sharp whistle from ahead.

The cave came to a sudden stop, but all she could see from outside was a furious white whirlwind.

"Dear god…you weren't kidding for once." Frisk muttered, staring out. The sound was overwhelming now.

"Told ya. Now, do you want to go first in case you get thrown back?"

Frisk looked over at him.

"um… I guess…"

Frisk stared at him hard.

 _Is he trying something?_

She looked away and moved forward.

 _It can't be too bad… I wish I knew what he was thinking._

Frisk stepped out into the whirling snow.

She squeezed her eyes shut as the wind hit her like a truck, and she dug her feet as hard into the ground as possible. The snow slapped her face and the wind roared in her ears, causing pain.

She put her arm up in front of her, gritting her teeth.

 _Oh my god, it's so powerful… how can wind get this bad!?_

Even breathing was difficult. She took in a short, small breath before trying to take a step.

Unfortunately, she lost her balance and was thrown back.

Frisk squeaked and prepared to hit hard stone…

She was caught by a pair of warm arms instead.

"Shit… hold on, back we go."

Frisk could feel his rib cage against her head as Sans pulled her back and set her on the ground, away from the wind.

Frisk sat up, rubbing her ear and cheeks.

"Oooowww…"

Sans looked at her skeptically.

"I told you. See why I asked if you wanted me to go behind you?"

Frisk opened her right eye.

"Yeah… t-thanks…"

"Alright, new plan. I'll go first, since I've done this before. You stay as close behind me as possible and hold my arm. That way some of the wind is blocked and you won't fall back."

Frisk raised an eyebrow.

"You… want me too…"

Sans realized and gained a blue to his cheekbones. He averted his gaze.

" _Arm._ Not hand. If you try to even touch my hand I'm leaving you behind." He said hastily.

Frisk blinked.

"Wow, am I really that repulsive? Jeez…"

Sans was still avoiding eye contact.

Frisk ginned slyly.

"You know, I'm sure Rocky wouldn't have a problem with me holding his hand…"

Sans jumped and looked at her.

"That dog? No. He can die"

His expression was unreadable.

Frisk was curious.

" Why?"

"Cause. "

"Sans, why-"

"We are leaving." Sans stood up quickly and moved back towards the entrance.

Frisk looked at his back.

 _Never seen that expression. He must have something against him._

Frisk followed.

"Alright, here." Sans offered his left arm.

Frisk hesitated.

"I don't know…"

"Frisk, I don't bite… well, I do, but I won't bite you. I know you aren't thrilled with me but come one, it's fine. If you wanna get outta here you're gonna have to touch something living."

Frisk glared at him.

"I just like personal space, Stars forbid."

She grabbed a hold of his arm. She forgot he was a skeleton and was surprised when most of the fabric succumbed to her touch, until she remembered. She could feel the bone underneath.

"Alright, ready?"

"Yeah…"

Sans walked forward and grunted when the wind hit.

Frisk closed her eyes and flattened her ears as much as she could.

Sans was moving forward with difficulty, she could tell.

"S'lot harder… than… I… remember… I need to work my lazy ass some more…" he seemed to be panting more to himself than anyone, but Frisk could still hear over the wind with how close she was pressed to him.

She got a rush of fear.

What if they got lost? She couldn't see a thing when she opened her eyes.

The wind hurt her ears…

She didn't like this.

She pressed closer against Sans, squeezing her eyes shut and relying on touch alone to move forward.

 _It feels like we've been here forever, what if we got lost? I don't wanna be lost…_

Frisk swallowed thickly.

Suddenly, they tumbled into the cave once again.

"Whew, it's done. Wow, it's been awhile… I really have gone rusty." Sans was huffing, and she noticed sweat on his skull.

He stood still for a few heartbeats before turning to her.

"Are… you gonna get off? I thought you didn't want to be near me."

Frisk blinked the snow from her eyes and jumped back.

"Oh, sorry!"

"O….Kay… well, we're almost through. There's just one more thing ahead we've gotta get past."

Sans turned and started walking.

Frisk brushed snow off of her ears and followed. They ached, but it was already going away.

"So… thank you… Sans… I… you've really been helping me…" Frisk said when she caught up.

"Don't thank me. I owe you after all that shit."

Frisk's ears twitched. The floor was no longer snowy, but the ice was thicker.

"No… no you don't… you've already saved my life twice. Not to mention I hurt you too." Frisk looked down.

"Well, I guess it's cause we're… friends? Wolves? I dunno. Remember what I said, cause I ain't repeating it."

"Wolves?"

"Moon-bloods, wolves, yeah. Wolves are usually in packs, yes? So it makes sense that we're drawn to one another. Safety in packs."

"Oh…" Frisk went silent.

"Speaking of wolves, there's something real cool above this hill." Sans said, pointing.

Frisk looked up the small hill, briefly wondering what was on the other side.

Her mind was more occupied with what he just said.

 _Wolves… is that why I can't be mad at him? But… I wonder… is that the only reason he cares now? No… he said… he said he was being honest, and that he really, genuinely cares. Whether its foolish to believe him, I have to believe him. For my own sake._

As they climbed the hill, Frisk noticed a yellow and blue light from up ahead.

As they reached the top, she saw where it was coming from.

It was a large gray stone plate placed in the wall. In the middle was a deep blue orb. Surrounding it was a drawing of two wolves, one on top and one on bottom. The seemed to be leaping, muscular bodies stretched and mouths wide open ready to engulf what was in front of them. In front of one- the yellow wolf- was a sun, and in front of the blue wolf was a moon. They glowed strongly, and lines stretched from their bodies and marked the rock slate.

She could sense an aura of old wisdom, a feeling of mystic coming from the rock. The drawings were drawn in an old, mythological style, but it seemed like the wolves could leap forward any minute.

Frisk stared in wonder, eyes wide.

Sans looked over at her briefly.

"That. Is the cool thing. It's called a howling door. The drawing on it is based off of an old Norse myth. The orb in the middle represents the earth. The Norse myth says that two Wolves run around it, one chasing the sun and one chasing the moon. It says that when one of the wolves devour their target, an eclipse happens."

"That's… cool…" Frisk said, staring at the drawing.

 _I need to read up on that, that sounds interesting._

"There are a few places around the underground with these, they were made by the king. Usually in places that are dangerous for the general public, or in his own castle to prevent unauthorized personnel from entering wherever. This was put here to keep kids and stuff from going through from the other side and going into the windstorm back there." Sans explained.

"So… we can't go further?" Frisk asked.

Sans turned to her.

"If that was the case, we wouldn't have gone this way. Only those with a wolves howl can get through. He gives Royal guard members little chips with voice recordings of his own voice to get in."

Frisk tilted her head in confusion.

"So, you have one."

"No."

"… so we can't get through. Unless we can get one around here."

Sans sighed.

"Think."

Frisk bristled in annoyance.

"I did! We need a voice chip, right? But we don't have one."

Sans shook his head.

"You're just like everyone else. Humans, monsters… they all look to the sky. They try so hard to fly, yet they don't have any wings- figuratively. But we have legs, why not run instead of dreaming of flight?"

Frisk was quiet for a few moments. That didn't make sense... Nor did it sound like Sans.

"…huh?"

Sans chuckled.

"You don't need a voice chip. You can howl on your own."

"What?! No, I'm not a dog."

Sans grinned at her.

"Don't need to be. You're a wolf."

Frisk rolled her eyes.

"I'm a human."

"With the soul of a wolf. You can growl. You can yelp and bark. You don't need to dream of flying when you have what you need right now. You can howl."

"But, wh… okay, say I can. How the hell do I do it? Not to mention… if all Moon-bloods can howl, why don't you do it!" Frisk pointed at him.

Sans looked away.

"I, uh… have a sore throat?"

"I'm not stupid. You do it."

"Nope."

Frisk growled and cracked her knuckles.

Sans glanced down at them.

"I ain't stoppin' ya, but you'll probably hurt your hand more than me if you go down that route."

Frisk groaned and slumped over.

"I don't know how to hooooowwwwlll."

Sans took a step closer. He was getting far too much enjoyment out of this.

"Just go awrrrooo."

"STOP MOCKING ME!" Frisk snapped.

"Well, it's funny. It's like a bird that can't chirp." Sans teased.

"…I hate you."

"Tsk tsk, its not nice to lie." Sans said in a chiding tone.

Frisk's eye twitched.

"Wow, you're really annoyed. Your eyes are doing the dark thing again." Sans pointed out with a knowing smile.

Frisk didn't respond.

"Alright, alright. Look, you take a deep breath, and let it gather in your chest. Then you think of the sound, and let it come out. It's simple." Sans pointed at his own chest.

Frisk narrowed her eyes.

"How do you do that? You're a skeleton."

"Magic."

Frisk didn't take her eyes off of him.

"… I'll try it if you do it."

"No."

"Well, I guess we sit here." Frisk plopped on the ground.

Sans threw his hands in the air.

"Are you _kid_ -ing me? You're acting really childish."

"You are! You won't help!" Frisk crossed her arms.

Sans let out a long groan.

"Ffffffffiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeee. I'll do it. As long as you do it."

Frisk jumped to her feet.

"Yay!"

Sans stared at the rock, looking less than thrilled.

"Ok. Inhale, and let go on the count of three."

Frisk took in air. She felt… awkward.

"One. Two. Three!"

"…"

Neither of them howled. Frisk turned to Sans.

"I knew you would do that!" Frisk yelled.

"You shouldn't be talking, you did it too." Sans countered.

"Errr…" Frisk couldn't fight that.

"Alright, let's try it again. Remember, imagine you're a wolf. Imagine the sound, then just make it. It's not hard."

 _Says you…._

Frisk took in air and closed her eyes.

 _I don't wanna do this…but… I have to… imagine I'm a wolf… imagine the howl… think… about the howl…_

She was brought back to her dream, where she was a wolf in the beautiful moonlit field, touching the silver moon with voice alone.

She remembered that.

She could suddenly feel it again, and it felt _real._

 _Maybe I can…._

"One… two… three-"

Frisk tilted her head back and let the sound pour out.

She was startled when what came out was indeed a howl.

It made her throat shake as it left her and stretched out into the night air. She could hear a howl beside her, but the two notes soon coiled into one.

She was back in the grass, back in the flowers. That sound, that powerful music made her feel like she really could touch the moon. She was no longer trapped underground, she was alive. She was touching the moon.

The stone slate grumbled and it slowly moved upward, opening the path, but she didn't notice.

She kept the sound going as long as she could, those few moments pure paradise.

Eventually, she ran out of breath and her howl died off, and she was left coughing and sucking in breath.

Sans kept going a little longer, probably because he had more practice. He soon quieted as well.

Frisk's heart was racing.

 _That was amazing!_

Sans didn't seem out of breath at all.

"Welp, there ya go. It wasn't that bad, wa-"

Frisk leaped over and wrapped her arms around him, burying her head into his chest.

"ahs…. It…" Sans sounded extremely confused.

Frisk giggled and looked up at him, smiling. Her tail was wagging.

"That was awesome!"

Sans swallowed and looked off to the side. Whether the blue on his cheeks was from a blush or from the blue on the wall she didn't know- nor care.

"Uh… yeah… I guess… what happened to the personal space bit?"

Frisk buried her head in his chest once more before breaking away and skipping through the new opening.

"…. Okaaaayyy…. Weird." Sans said before following her.

Her excitement slowly wore off as they went on. The following passage was rather dull and dark, and colder than before.

As they rounded a corner, an exit came in sight.

The white light lit up the floor, and she jumped in joy.

All the jumping hurt her leg, but whatever.

 _I can finally leave this stuffy cavern!_

She jogged up to the entrance and waited for Sans. He didn't move a bit faster.

"Do you really have to move fast? Come on, I don't like moving. Too much energy wasted." He looked… happy too. Happier than usual. His smile seemed to have no weight to it.

"The world isn't ending yet, so you can afford to waste a little." Frisk rolled jokingly.

She stepped out into the open, Sans close behind.

The light was a little blinding, and she had to squint at first.

They were right beside a cliff, that started out not too steep, but suddenly dropped away into a deep ravine. It was clear, and she could see a large structure looming ahead.

The snow was pretty deep on the sides of the path, but it was shoveled away in the middle. A variety of footprints were left in the trampled snow.

"Thank the stars, that was starting to feel like eternity." Frisk said, stretching.

Sans looked over

"you seem pretty happy."

Frisk turned to him.

"Talk for yourself."

Frisk froze.

Sans raised a brow, his smile wavering.

"What? Somethin' wrong?"

A pair of familiar eyes glared from the shadows behind Sans, harsh. She could see the glint of light off of steel.

" _Traitor!"_

Frisk's body didn't wait for her to think.

She pushed herself forward, shoving Sans down. She caught only a quick glimpse of his eye sockets, wide and black.

Then Dogamy's black hood filled her vision as he buried his fangs into the sensitive part between her neck and shoulder.

Frisk cried out, staggering. Dogamy was much bigger than her, and she couldn't hold him and herself up at the same time.

Frisk tried desperately to keep her footing, but her heart lost all weight as she stepped out into thin air.

She cried out again as she felt herself falling over the edge of the cliff. Dogamy let out a bark, but didn't take his teeth from her shoulder.

"Frisk!" She heard Sans call, but it was too late.

They both began rolling down the side, sharp rocks and ice digging into Frisk's body. She clawed at the dog latched onto her, and she bit him back in desperation, trying everything to get him _off._

They rolled off of the steep drop, and they started _falling_.

Before she could cry out her body slammed against something and came to a stop, the impact throwing Dogamy off of her.

Frisk didn't move for a few seconds, trembling. She could feel hot blood from her shoulder, the wound sending deep cuts of pain through her whole upper body.

She pulled herself up slowly, panting. She grabbed the wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

Frisk looked around.

It was a flat rock that jutted out from the cliff side.

 _Oh thank god… I could have died… where's Dogamy?!_

Frisk shot to her feet.

 _He must've been thrown off when I hit!_

Frisk stumbled over to the edge, falling to her knees.

Dogamy was holding onto a rock very close below, snarling.

He caught sight of her and barked, his feet scraping uselessly against the rock.

Frisk hesitated, staring into his rage filled eyes.

 _You… you hate me… so much… and you scare me… you scare me senseless… you tried to hurt Sans._

Frisk felt her eyes burn with anger and her lip go up.

 _But… you're mad because you're hurt, aren't you? You lost someone close to you… you… Dammit! I can't leave you to die, no matter how much… I've already killed someone, I can't do it again!_

Frisk growled to herself and reached out, offering her hand.

Dogamy snapped at it.

"I don't need your help!" He snarled.

Frisk drew her hand back a little, looking down at Dogamy.

"If you don't put this aside you'll die." She said bluntly.

Dogamy's muzzle scrunched up.

"So why do you care! So you can kill me yourself?! I'll have none of it! I'll be with my wife again!"

Frisk shook her head.

"And you think she'd want that? I get it, you've lost someone. Someone's hurt you. But that doesn't mean everyone is bad! You have no idea how hard it is to not let you fall, so just grab my damn hand already!" Frisk snapped, reaching down once again.

Dogamy's eyes widened.

He was still for a few moments… before reaching up for her hand.

Frisk grunted as the weight started to pull her forward. She dug her knees into the light snow on the rock and pulled with all her might, her shoulder screaming at her to stop. Dogamy was pulled up a little bit, enough so he could grab the rock himself.

Frisk gave one last pull, pulling him over, before letting herself fall back and scramble away.

Dogamy huffed and pulled himself over the edge, looking down.

Frisk caught her breath on the other side, never taking her eyes off of the dog.

 _Please… please don't fight anymore… because I'll be pretty damn pissed._

"Frisk! Frisk, are you there?!"

Frisk looked up after hearing Sans's voice. She almost didn't recognize it at first, with how desperate it sounded.

Frisk stood up and waved her hands.

"Here!"

Sans must have made his way down the less steep part, as he was now peering over the drop. He seemed smaller now.

Dogamy stood and grunted.

Sans caught sight of her.

"Frisk! I'm gonna pull you up with my magic! Hold on!"

She could see his eye flash blue as his magic activated, then felt her soul be pulled upward.

It was a little uncomfortable, but it would do.

Sans pulled her up slowly and set her down beside him.

"I know you probably don't want to… but get Dogamy too."

Sans looked at her with skepticism mixed with anger, but he turned back over and started to pull Dogamy up.

He did Dogamy much faster than he did her.

Frisk started moving up the side of the hill, using her good hand to keep a grip on something solid to make sure she didn't slide back down.

Sans followed behind, making sure to put himself between her and Dogamy.

Once they reached the top, Sans rushed over to her.

"Are you ok? Where'd he get you?" He was looking anxiously at her neck.

Frisk tilted her head and winced. The coat around it was soaked in crimson. It made her feel sick, but she was oddly used to seeing her own blood now.

"Here." She pointed.

Sans moved in, looking intently at it.

He sighed in relief.

"Good. I was scared he got your throat, or an important blood vessel in there. It's pretty bad but it doesn't look life-threatening. Frisk…"

Sans pulled back a little, making eye contact. His eye lights were big, and his face crinkled with confusion and… regret? She felt him rest his hand lightly on her upper arm.

Frisk could hardly stand to look into his eyes like this…

"Why… did you do that?"

Frisk sighed and closed her eyes, sporting a small, amused smile.

"This is pretty cliché when you think about it."

"Frisk… " sans didn't sound too amused.

Her smile faded, and her ears fell back.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't really… think. I just moved. Instinct. Maybe cause you're my friend, even if I'm not yours." She looked away.

She heard Sans swallow.

Dogamy cleared his throat.

"Sorry to break up the… heart to heart, but I have a question. Why are you betraying us and running about with a human, judge? Why the change of heart." Dogamy's eyes went dark.

Sans turned to face him, his right eye light fading.

"I dunno, why do you want to kill someone innocent?" He answered stiffly.

"I never thought I'd see you beside a live human. When did you change your mind? " Dogamy responded.

"Maybe you should mind your business and realize this human is fine. " Sans glanced at her.

Dogamy bared his teeth.

"All humans are _trash!_ Savages!"

"If that's so, wouldn't I have pushed you off the edge?" Frisk pointed out.

Dogamy opened his mouth then looked away.

"I know that your past experiences with us have been… hurtful. But you have to understand. Nothing is black or white. No single person, or a race of people, can be all good or all bad. That goes for you monsters too. We all lose people, but what's the point of blaming others when we could all move forward and make something from it?" Frisk looked over at Sans.

"Why try to fly without wings when you have so much more?"

* * *

 **The "fly vs. Run" thing was from Wolf's rain, I suggest you check it out!**


	21. Chapter 19- Forget the past

"Sans! Human! You're back! Are you okay?!" Papyrus came running out of the house as soon as he saw them approaching.

Sans had taken her back using his… teleportation. She never knew he had that ability. Though she didn't like doing through his "shortcuts", and he seemed to take a lot of fatigue from it.

She was tired herself, really.

"I'm fine." Sans said as Papyrus came over.

"You're covered in scratches! And my word, human, what happened to your shoulder?!" Papyrus was practically jumping up and down.

Frisk was a little upset with having to came back here yet again. But Sans could just zap back to where they left off, so it wasn't so bad.

Why hadn't he offered to do that from the start?

Frisk moved behind Sans as Papyrus came closer, arm reaching for her shoulder.

"I don't think she wants you to touch it, bro. I'll bandage it when we get inside."

Papyrus tilted his head.

"I thought the human was moving onwards? Oh well, this is wonderful!" Papyrus seemed happy despite Frisk's slight irritation.

To be honest Frisk wasn't ready to leave Snowdin. She never would be.

Papyrus opened the door for them, and his eyes were fixed on them as they entered.

Sans yawned and immediately plopped on the couch.

"Your jacket needs to be tossed, Sans. That arm is ruined." Papyrus said, pointing at the lump on the couch.

"No." Sans clutched his jacket protectively.

"Sans, you can't expect to wear it anymore!"

"I'll just wear my spare. But I don't wanna throw this away."

"Spare? The one with the ketchup stain? That ones ruined too!"

"No, it's just a ketchup stain. It's fine."

"Sans, you are absolutely absurd!"

"Hey, Frisky. Get o'er here. You need to get that fixed up."

Frisk's head snapped over to Sans.

"I… could I take a bath first?"

Sans sighed and rolled over.

"Fiiiine, as long as you're not bleeding everywhere. Give Papyrus your clothes if you want them washed."

Papyrus huffed.

"Sans, it is YOUR turn to do laundry. It was your turn last time too, but you didn't do it!"

"Fine. Gimme your clothes."

Frisk narrowed her eyes.

"That sounds very weird. I will slide them under the door."

"Good plan. I'm sure Paps wouldn't want you stripping in the living room." Sans winked.

Frisk shook her head.

"SANS, INAPPROPRIATE!"

Frisk went up the stairs as Sans broke into a giggle fit on the couch.

Frisk realized that the bath was pretty nice after running around Waterfall for two days. Besides the fact that her shoulder stung like all hell, it really helped calm her down.

However, of course she had to find it was that unpleasant time of month. Luckily Toriel was a very good mother figure and gifted her what she needed to deal with this.

Thank the lord for Toriel.

After winding down, Frisk took the spare clothes Sans had thankfully remembered to slide under the door- the old sweater he gave her and a pair of pajama pants that used to be Papyrus's when he was smaller. She liked the cats on the pants, they were very cute. Sans didn't seem to like them very much, probably why he didn't wear them himself.

She threw herself on the couch the second she had the chance, hearing the springs squeak under her.

Saying she was beat was an understatement.

"Hey. You took my spot."

Frisk groaned in response to Sans and moved her legs over.

"I wanted to lay down too. But I've still gotta do your shoulder, so I guess you've got time."

Frisk groaned again.

No.

Sans returned with the cute little first aid kid and went to work.

Frisk was actually much better with letting him touch her. Though she was a little jumpy when he first started prodding at it, she eventually ignored it all together.

"There ya go. Don't touch it anymore. You're lucky he was thrown off course, because if he wasn't he could've killed you in one bite." Sans's voice held the chiding but still a little frightened tone to it.

Frisk turned her head slightly towards him.

"And if I didn't move you would've died. So it's fair game. But why do you sound so… scared?"

Sans looked away.

"Cause… I do, okay? Don't worry about it."

Frisk smiled and nudged him with her tail.

He glared at the furry appendage.

"Aww, is Sansy getting soft?"

"Bones can't get soft Snap pea. But that reminds me…" Sans grinned and grabbed her tail before she could react.

Frisk yelled and sat up, snarling.

"Let go! Don't touch my tail!"

"This has gotta get brushed." Sans said slowly.

"I'll do it myself! Let go!" Frisk snapped like an angry dog.

Her tail was bristling in his hand.

"Someone doesn't like their tail touched, huh? Well, behave and I won't touch it." Sans let go of her tail, and she immediately pulled it up to her body.

"That's just like touching a girls boobs, don't do it." Frisk ran her hand along her tail protectively.

Sans leaned back, taking up half the couch. Jerk.

"So you're saying I just did the equivalent of touching your boob? Heheheh... Though, those things are weird. They make me think of squeaky toys. Do they squeak when they get squeezed?"

"PAPYRUS, SANS IS HARASSING ME, HELP!" Frisk called.

Papyrus came dashing into the room with spaghetti sauce all over his apron. It said kiss the skeleton. Hah, very funny.

"Sans, stop bothering the human!"

Sans looked over at him and shrugged. The second Papyrus turned his back he looked over at her and gave her the "game on" look.

Papyrus's cooking had improved a little bit since Toriel's stay. Frisk was actually rather hungry, after not eating at all in a day. Sans was right about her having to watch her weight, she was still balancing on the dangerously skinny side since being sick. Frisk had always thought the skinnier the better, but now she was thinking otherwise.

Maybe she was turning skeleton like the brothers.

That would be something.

Everything was like routine- eat food, argue, puzzles, more brotherly arguing, Papyrus goes to bed while Sans reads him story.

Frisk realized how long it had been since she and Sans watched a movie together after they had fought. It was almost weird when he came down the stairs after all the lights went out.

He noticed Frisk's blank gaze.

"Movie time, remember? Or rather, adult movie time?"

"Adult? If I recall last Time we did this we watched SpongeBob."

"Adult. I would never let Papyrus watch SpongeBob. Too dangerous. NSFW." Sans sat down in front of the couch.

"You shelter him too much, you know."

"We all know this. Not gonna change a thing." Sans turned on the tv with the remote.

"Welp, what do you wanna watch?"

Frisk edged farther into her blanket.

"I… dunno. I just feel weird right now?"

Sans turned over to her.

"In what way?" He sounded far too amused. "Is Frisk Frisky?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter. I mean… it's just… you don't have to do this if you don't want to. If you're not doing it for you, then don't do it." Frisk played with the edge of the couch.

Sans tensed and sighed.

"I… I am doing it because I missed it, pup. Okay? Damn, you know how to get under someone's bones."

Frisk blinked and let a little whine escape her throat.

"S-sorry…."

Sans turned around completely, getting up on his knees.

He reached forward before she could move and ruffled up her hair.

"I was just joking, calm down, pea."

"Sans!" Frisk tried to push his hand away.

"Oh, stop it. Now, are you gonna stop worryin' 'bout stuff or are you gonna pick out a movie?"

"Okay, okay! Wait, Sans…" Frisk glanced at his arm as he pulled it away. She still saw a few scratches from yesterday. It was weird how he could still bleed despite being a skeleton.

"You… You're not badly hurt from yesterday, right? No big scratches? I never… I don't think I got the chance to ask you."

Sans glanced at his own arm.

"M'fine. Just little scratches here and there. Nothing needing attention."

Frisk tilted her head, trying to see through him like he did her. It wasn't working.

 _Damn you Sans._

"Well, maybe you should get some band-aids just in case. You should've learned after that infection I just got."

"Speaking of which, I noticed you had a slight limp before. How's that doing?"

"Sans, I was talking about you. Don't change the subject."

"Fiiinnnee… I'll do that tomorrow. Seriously though, how is that?"

Frisk sat up and looked at her leg. She still had bandages on it, but it was almost fully healed. It still ached when putting too much weight on it or just from time to time- Toriel said it would be that way for a long time.

"It's fine, it just hurts a little every once and awhile. Can't do anything about it. Toriel said it would hurt for awhile. And it's gonna leave a nasty scar, like my arm."

Sans stared at it intently and nodded.

"By the time 'yer outta here, your gonna be covered in scars."

"Probably." Frisk chuckled.

She pulled up her sleeve to glance at the scar where the gash from Undyne used to be. It was actually kinda cool looking, so she didn't mind. As long as it didn't hurt.

She wondered why people worried about having scars.

"So. Movie?" Sans reminded her.

"Oh!" She looked up.

"I… I don't know… why not SpongeBob again, I don't feel up to much."

"Coolio. I was thinking the same thing."

"You were only thinking SpongeBob because the cursor is on it and you're too lazy to move it." Frisk pointed out.

Sans chuckled.

"Ya got me."

…

It was _1_ in the morning and Frisk couldn't sleep.

She had been lying awake for who knows how long. Sans was long snoring on the floor, but she couldn't sleep.

The TV was starting to frighten her. She had no explanation for it, just seeing it on the blank screen for so long started to give her chills and a deep fear that it was out to get her.

Maybe it was for killing that dog.

Frisk shook her head, trying to get the memory away.

 _It's just a TV. It's over now, I can stop thinking about it._

But yet she couldn't stop her mind from reliving her screw-ups, feeling the pain from them all over again. She stayed with her back facing the TV so she wouldn't freak out.

No matter how hard she tried to shake the feeling, she felt like someone else was in the room besides her and Sans.

Something nudged her shoulder.

Frisk tensed, eyes going wide.

 _Don't get scared, it's nothing, it's nothing._

It nudged her again.

"S-Sans?" She stammered.

No answer.

It nudged her once more and she jumped up, her tail wrapping around her leg.

Her eyes went as wide as they could when she saw what was in front of her.

It was a _wolf._

 _Two wolves._

One was pure white save for one black paw. It was slightly smaller than the second wolf. It had bright green eyes that were hauntingly familiar.

The second wolf had black eyes with little white pupils that were also so, so familiar. It's white fur was splotched with black, like someone had dripped ink all over him.

They were both semi-transparent, she could see the floor beneath their feet. Yet they looked real as day, shining in front of her.

Frisk started trembling, mouth wide open.

 _W-what are… w-w-who a-are…_

Frisk slowly moved forward and put her hand on Sans's shoulder.

"S-s-Sans…" she gave him a light shake.

The white wolf shook her head.

Frisk froze.

"W-what do you… Want?" She couldn't stop her voice from shaking.

The two wolves exchanged glances and the black and white wolf started to walk to the door. The white wolf moved its gaze from the other wolf to her, as if beckoning to follow.

Frisk leaned closer.

"You… want me to follow you?" Frisk asked.

The white wolf nodded.

"I… I don't know… you're not… how can I trust you?"

As soon as the words left her mouth the white wolf bounded forward, landing right in front of her face.

Frisk jumped back against the couch, staring into the wolf's eyes.

She could see a tiny, tiny reflection of herself in the wolf's eyes. Her own eyes looked almost like they were a part of the wolf's, the same shade of green.

The wolf leaned in closer while she was musing on this and landed a long, hot lick to her face.

"Bleh!" Frisk turned away and wipped her face. Oddly, it was not wet. She had felt it, but it left no trace.

The wolf tilted its head and stared at her.

"Oh, fine, I'm coming. Hold on." Frisk grumbled, getting up and making sure not to step on Sans.

She was pretty sure he wouldn't wake up regardless.

The two wolves waited by the door for her. The splotched wolf seemed to be a little urgent, like whatever it was he needed her too see was vitally important.

Frisk followed them outside. The wind had picked up, and it chilled her right to the bone.

The wolves did not leave footprints in the snow, proving they were indeed ethereal.

They lead her behind the house. It was enshrouded by shadow here, a place she had never thought of going.

They lead her to a strange, beat up door.

Frisk stopped in front of it.

"wow, I never knew this was here. What is it?" Frisk examined the door, curious.

It was locked.

Frisk turned to the wolves and pointed at the door.

"Is this what you wanted me too see? Or is it inside."

The splotched wolf pawed the door.

Frisk looked around, shifting in the snow.

"Okay, okay. But how do I get in? I don't have a key. I can't break in."

Something nudged her leg.

Frisk turned to find the white wolf with something in its mouth.

It dropped the item in the snow, revealing it to be a bobby pin.

Frisk scratched her ear.

"You guys really thought of everything, huh? I don't want to pick their lock. I don't know how too. And what if I break it? I could just go to Sans and ask to go in, y'know."

The wolves both shook their heads.

Frisk sighed.

Could she trust these wolves?

Why were they here?

Why were they so familiar.

As she looked at them, the splotched wolf shifted on his paws. Something in his strange eyes showed deep fear.

Frisk stared at him closer.

 _I've seen those eyes before… I've seen them both before… but where…. Hmmm…_

 _Wait, those look likes Sans's eyes!_

Frisk jumped.

"Hey, who are you? Is Sans playing a prank?"

The wolves exchanged glances.

They didn't say a thing… not that they could.

The splotched wolf moved up to the door and pawed it again.

The pleading in his eyes got to her.

"Fine, I'll do it. I hope I don't mess up…" Frisk bent in front of the door, shivering at the cold.

She messed around with the bobby pin before inserting it into the lock. She had no idea what she was doing. But after about ten minutes of playing and shivering, she heard a click.

The door was open.

"Whew. Thank the stars I didn't screw that up. Now, what's in there?" Frisk turned to the wolves.

They moved in without a second thought.

"Yeah, right. Stupid question." Frisk muttered to herself.

The door led to some stairs that went down. It seemed like it was a basement of sorts.

It was completely dark, but the wolves glowed in front of her. It was very… strange.

Frisk held onto the railing for dear life as she descended. The white wolf had a paw on the wall near the bottom of the stairs.

Frisk examined it and found a light switch.

"Thanks." She clicked the button.

The lights came on slowly. They were rather dull and flickered ominously.

It was a small, narrow room that looked almost like a mini lab. The floor was made of neat blue tiles, and the walls white. A row of drawers sat to one side, and dusty boxes to the other. To the far end was something covered by a huge sheet.

Frisk sniffed the air out of instinct.

It smelled old, and chemical-y, but she could smell a lot of Sans's… scent.

No trace of Papyrus anywhere.

The splotched wolf moved over to the drawers.

"Wow… this is like a little lab. Sans comes down here a lot, doesn't he? He never told me about it… so maybe I should leave it be. I don't want to poke in his business…" Frisk scanned the lab again.

The wolf didn't move, and the white wolf beside her looked up at her.

Frisk gave in and walked over to the drawers.

The wolf tapped the first one with his muzzle before moving to the side.

Frisk opened up the drawer. It was a little rough due to rust and required some force.

Inside was lots of dust bunnies, a photo, and a badge.

Frisk blinked curiously and picked up the photo.

It seemed to be taken in a different lab setting, brightly lit and clean looking. Sans stood off to the side, shorter and smaller than he was now. He was scowling.

Next to him was a tall, tall… skeleton looking man with a dignified demeanor. One of his eyes held a crack in it. Around them were others she didn't recognize who were also in lab coats, all of them with a little golden badge with the delta rune.

Frisk stared at the picture.

Sans looked… Very troubled

She had never seen so much hatred in his eyes.

It made all of his grins seem so… empty.

The picture sent a cold chill up her spine.

Frisk put the picture down and grabbed the badge.

It was the same one in the picture, except it looked like someone had taken a knife and carved across the surface.

"Huh… why did you show me this?" Frisk turned to the wolf.

However, he had already moved two drawers down, pressing his muzzle to it.

Frisk moved to that drawer after replacing the contents of the previous drawer.

Inside was a bunch of papers written in an odd language that seemed to use a lot of hands and other symbols.

"What's this?" Frisk turned the stack around, staring at the odd handwriting.

"It's really weird. You want me to try to read it?"

The wolves nodded.

Frisk looked back at the papers nervously.

"Well, I can try to find what they're written in, but… I can't just take the papers… hmmm… wait, I can take pictures! With the phone Toriel gave me! It takes pictures, right?"

Frisk pulled out her phone. She hadn't used it in awhile. It still had 32% power, thankfully. She took pictures of the papers, making sure to keep them in order.

It took about 20 pictures, but eventually she was done.

She shoved her phone back in her pocket.

The wolf wanted her to look at another drawer.

Frisk noticed this one looked beat up. There were lines and scratches and dents in it, and one of the knobs was gone.

It was rather loose and opened with ease.

Frisk jumped as it tore open.

Inside was a black box, little pieces of something white on the bottom, and deep stains in the wood. A sickening scent came up from it.

 _Is that… blood?_

Frisk moved in closer but pulled away quickly, crinkling her nose.

Getting a suddenly sensitive nose sucked.

Frisk pulled out the box.

The splotched wolf seemed to be nervous now, while the white one out its paws on the counter and watched intently.

She seemed just as curious as Frisk was.

The box was beat up just like the drawer. Not in an old, natural way, but in a way that made her think of agony.

Inside the box was a couple of extremely sharp knives and scalpels. They looked like something in a lab. A few had stains on them that made her blood go cold.

"What… is this?" Frisk was involuntarily shaking. She picked up one of the knives.

It looked sharp enough to cut the hardest metal…

"Why are these here? Did Sans use them on someone, or something? Or…" Frisk looked back in the drawer.

She picked up the biggest piece of the white material scattered in the drawer. It was hard.

It looked like bone…

Frisk shook her head, trying to clear the sick feeling.

She felt like she had two pieces to a puzzle but couldn't fit them together…

She turned to the splotched wolf.

"Is this… what you wanted me to see?"

The wolf solemnly nodded.

Frisk looked back at the piece of what seemed to be bone.

"What does… it mean? Why is this here?"

The white wolf whined beside her.

The splotched wolf looked away.

Of course he couldn't answer.

Frisk looked back at the knives and closed the box, placing it back in the drawer. She put the bone shard in her pocket.

"Is that… all?" Frisk asked.

The splotched wolf looked around before nodding.

The white wolf trotted over to the thing concealed in the sheet and sniffed it.

Frisk walked over, curiously gazing at it.

She lightly lifted the sheet and looked inside.

It seemed to be… some sort of machine. It was broken and sad looking.

Frisk put the sheet back, feeling an aura of loss.

She back away.

"I shouldn't be down here… I hope Sans's doesn't find out. He'll kill me…" Frisk looked down at her arms nervously.

The white wolf looked up, ears twitching.

The splotched wolf had left.

The white wolf took a step forward, but stayed at her side, looking between her and the stairs.

Frisk closed the drawer and started moving towards them.

"I'm leaving. I don't want to be down here anymore." She felt a shudder go down her spine.

Frisk and the white wolf hurried back into the house.

Upon closing the door Frisk noticed the splotched wolf curled up beside Sans, gazing at him with wide eyes.

The wolf seemed so worried.

Frisk slowly approached Sans.

He was still sound asleep on the floor, unaware of the wolves in the living room.

Frisk bent down beside him and stared at him hard.

"…"

She then took out the bone shard and held it up to his arm.

Upon comparison it really did look like bone.

Did he hurt himself in the lab and chip bone?

Did he do it to himself? Why would he?

Frisk shuddered at the thought.

Why would someone want to hurt themselves?

Frisk put the fragment back in her pocket and kept staring at Sans.

He was snoring lightly.

Frisk couldn't dislodge the worry in her stomach.

"Sans… I don't know what it is with you, but I never liked it. And I certainly don't like it now."

She looked at him for a few more seconds before moving back up to the couch.

It had been a long, long day.

As she was grabbing her blankets, her eyes caught Sans again.

Frisk decided she could spare a blanket.

She took the blue one on top and nervously draped it over him, scared she would wake him up.

 _Payback. For the blanket in Waterfall._

The wolf beside Sans looked up at her and his tail thumped once. It made no sound.

She curled under her blankets.

 _I think these wolves are okay… they seem so._

She looked over to try to find the white wolf and found her laying on the couch, right on Frisk. Frisk couldn't feel it, nor any weight.

Frisk was slightly startled, but got over it fast.

"You're a pretty wolfie." Frisk yawned, reaching forward and running her hand along the wolf's face. The fur was soft.

The wolf closed her eyes and laid her head down on Frisk. Suddenly, she seemed to fade into the air, leaving nothing in her trace.

Upon looking over The splotched wolf was gone as well.

Frisk smiled and closed her eyes.

She remembered now.

The wolves in her dream.

They looked just like that.

 _And I was the white one._

…

"Fffffrrrrrriiiiiiiiiisssssssssskkkkkkkk, wwwwwwaaaaaakkkkeee uuuuuuppppp."

Frisk groaned and covered her face with her arm.

"Okay, your loss."

Frisk was just about to drift back to sleep when she felt a tug on her tail.

She shot up like a fish out of water.

"Sans, don't touch my- OW!"

Sans was sitting on her legs and _brushing_ her tail.

 _Brushing. HER. TAIL._

Frisk felt her ears prick forward aggressively. She snarled and growled at him.

"LET GO!"

Sans didn't even look up.

"It's gotta get done. You said you would do it, you didn't. Your loss for not waking up."

"LET GO OR I WILL BITE YOUR FINGER OFF!"

Sans waggled his finger, almost like he was taunting her…

"Tsk tsk, no eating of the bones."

Frisk growled and tried to turn her upper half around, seeing as her lower half was being sat on by resident skeleton. Sans didn't bat an eye. He picked up something beside him.

He had a squirt bottle.

He squirt her in the face with water.

"SANS! UGH, THIS HAD BETTER BE WATER!" Frisk fell back and wiped her face.

"I didn't think about that. I could've used pee, dammit. I wish I had thought of that sooner. But behave and I won't squirt you." He winked.

Frisk let out the longest, most exasperated groan she had ever made and fell back onto the couch.

Sans chuckled above her.

"You're more cat than I give you credit for. Y'know, you could be mistaken for a cat if your ears were a little bigger and sharper…"

"No! Though, cats aren't that bad. They're really cute. But the idea of being a cat doesn't really appeal to me very much."

"Bleargh. Cats are nasty. Just like seafood."

"I hope y-OW- never tried to eat a cat."

"Insert avoiding question tactic here."

"Saaaaannnnssss…"

"I can't tell you, I told Papyrus Mittens went and found a royal family to live with where he drank cream from a golden saucer. I can't let him know otherwise."

"SAAAAAANNNSS! I'm seriously unable to tell of you're joking or not and I'm getting distressed."

Sans pulled on another knot in her tail, and although it hurt, his pull was gentle. His touch overall was very gentle and light, and she wondered if he was taking into account how touchy she could be.

"You don't need to know. Mittens is in a good place." Sans hummed.

"Alive?"

"Mmmmmmmmnope."

"Sans, that's horrible."

"Natural selection. The thing was so freaking fat, it looked like a ball. Maybe if it were skinner it could've ru-"

"Sans, stop. I'm going to cry. I don't like you anymore." Frisk sniffed.

She was actually deeply physiologically scarred by the idea of Sans killing a big, fat kitty.

"You liked me? Ever? Wow. Oh, and do you ever brush this damn tail?"

"…no. It never occurred to me to brush it."

"Welp, because you neglect it I've probably got fur all over the couch and my clothes. Wonderful. _Fur-_ ific."

"Shut up."

Frisk rested her head on her hands and closed her eyes.

After most of the bad knots were out, it wasn't that bad. Frisk actually was finding the long stroked comforting, in a way. It was giving her the tingles. She still was glad when he stopped, simply because she didn't like not being able to see him handling her tail.

Sans was right, she had fur _everywhere._

Sans stood up and brushed himself off, a literal army of brown fur flying into the air.

"…sorry…" his poor black shorts.

Sans shrugged.

"Eh, whatever. Hey, do you feel like going up to Grillby's later? I have to make up a shift of work I missed, but we can go after." Sans asked.

Frisk looked off to the side.

"…sure…"

"Alright. Before I go you wanna raid the fridge and steal all the whip-cream? You shoot me and I'll shoot you."

"Hell yeah!"

…

After Sans had left for his sentry duty Frisk was left alone.

She had slept so late the idea of going on wasn't even Brought up, so everyone assumed Frisk was staying.

She wasn't in an adventurous mood (she never was, she liked to stay alive) so she snuck up into Sans's room- he left the door unlocked- and laid on his bed.

She had intended on sitting here for a little while scrolling through memes on Undernet, but she ended up falling fast asleep instead.

When she woke up, it was dark.

 _Shit! Is Sans…_

Frisk immediately knew her answer by the fact she was now covered with a blanket.

Frisk hid her head under the blanker for five minutes trying to make her embarrassment go away.

Eventually she forced herself up and down the stairs.

Sans was on the couch. He had a newspaper in his hands and she guessed he was reading the comics.

"Heya. You have a nice nap on my bed?"

"I'm sorry, I was just on the phone and then I kinda dosed off." Frisk apologized, feeling her cheeks burn.

It was really weird falling asleep in someone else's bed.

Sans waved his hand dismissively.

"I don't care. I do it too. I don't blame you with all that's been happening. Only rule is don't clean my room, got it?"

Frisk sighed.

"You really are ridiculous…"

Sans out the paper down.

"Hey, it's my territory. My rules. You still wanna go to Grillby's? I have a real great plan."

"Plan? You actually put effort into a plan? Why do I not like this…"

"Effort? Naw, I just wanted to do something and thought why not drag you along?"

Frisk huffed.

"Let me get ready first."

"Don't wear anything nice, I'm warning ya'. Or white."

Frisk glanced at him questioningly.

"One, I've only got literally two shirts and a jacket. Two, why?"

Sans winked.

"You'll understand soon."

…

Grillby's had a decent number of people around. But the two seats in the front were open, like they always were.

Grillby looked pleasantly surprised (and Frisk thought she caught a hint of relief) to see the two of them there. Frisk didn't know how he even looked different seeing as how he was a literal flame.

But being here again made her feel like the worst kind of trash for not only using Rocky, but for trying to replace Sans like a tool.

Speaking of Rocky…

Frisk noticed him across the restaurant. She was going to call out hi, but he was currently talking to a pair of rather fancy looking woman dogs…

Anything to get him off her.

Sans was spinning in his stool seat.

"Ok, so whadya want to eat?"

Frisk had to refresh her memory by glancing at a menu. She hadn't actually looked at it in awhile.

The word _steak_ made her mouth unexpectedly water.

The only thing she had ever ordered here were burgers and fries, so…

"St-steak…?" She hoped she wasn't being an issue.

Well, maybe a little. Sans deserved that much.

"Steak? Something different, huh? Finally, something other than French fries. How cooked?"

"Rare." Frisk answered like it wasn't even a question.

Wait, she liked rare steak?

When had she last even eaten steak?

Steak?

Meat.

Yum.

What.

"Okeeey. I'll get one too. I'm feeling up to some MEAT." Sans said the word loudly.

Frisk burst out laughing just from the way he said it.

Sans decided to torture her.

"Whaddya loike da MEAT? You loike da MEAT!"

Frisk threw her head on the table, gasping for air.

"S-Sa-hah-Sans, s-stop- hah!" She was wheezing.

"ME- oh, hey Grillby."

Frisk looked up, feeling tears in her eyes. Her stomach hurt.

 _MEAT._

"Two rare steaks. Also, while you're at it two Wolf bloods." Sans ordered.

Frisk looked over at him.

 _Wolf blood?_

Grillby gave him a look and leaned in closer. Frisk didn't catch what he said.

Sans waved him away.

"Oh, its fine! This isn't the surface, isn't it? Besides, why'd you let me have that stuff if I technically wouldn't be allowed to on the surface."

"I shouldn't." Grillby crackled.

"And I'll get something more fruity if she needs it." Sans added.

"What's going on?" Frisk asked.

"Nothin." Sans replied.

Grillby walked away.

"Obviously something." Frisk raised a brow.

"Nothing of your concern, fluffy?" Sans countered.

"Fluffy? At least my fur is real."

"At least I take care of my coat, unlike you with your tail."

"Your coat is not a body part that you suddenly and unexpectedly gained, and you don't take care of your coat."

"Yes I do."

"No, you don't. It reeks like ketchup."

"So? Designer touch."

"No, laziness touch."

They argued until Grillby brought back the food.

Their argument was quickly cut off as the food and drinks were placed down.

 _What's that…._

Frisk pulled in the drink closer.

Instantly, she made a face.

 _It's alcohol…_

Frisk the smell immediately reminded of her life on the surface, back at her… not home. She shook the memory away.

"Sans… this is alcohol."

Sans picked his up and took a swig.

"Yeah, so?"

"I'm 16. I'm not legally allowed to drink until 21."

"On the surface. Down here we have no such laws. And we're in the same boat. I wouldn't be allowed to drink up there either. In human years I'd be considered… 18? I dunno, around that age. Not 21."

"Wait, what!?"

"Yeah, no one believes me."

"…"

"And I've driven plenty of times. You don't have too if you don't want too, I just thought it would be a neat little… I dunno." Sans shrugged and took another swig.

Frisk stared down at the drink.

"It's not… that. It's just… the smell brings back bad memories, is all."

Sans visibly softened.

"Oh, I get ya… sorry? But hey, if you don't mind me asking, what was your life like on the surface? You don't seem to have liked it very much."

Frisk closed her eyes.

"Well… I had a sister… and a mother. My mother… was an alcoholic, and my sister was older and not nice at all. They would always get into fight and stuff over everything. I didn't have many friends cause I had absolutely no social tolerance whatsoever. I liked to hand around with my cat, but he passed away two years ago. Really, not much to comment on." Frisk shrugged.

"… ok. Sorry to ask… I didn't mean to upset you or anything."

Frisk opened her eyes.

"I'm not upset. Really, it wasn't that bad. I had food. And shelter. I'm my mind it's hell, but I was always told people always had it a ton worse. And that's right. My life's nothing to whine about. I only left after my cat died. He was my only bind to that place."

"Hey, not having support growing up… it's tough, believe me. I was… kinda in that situation, I guess. But don't think that because other people may have it worse doesn't mean you didn't have a bad life, or a bad home. Saying you can't be sad because others have it worse is like saying you can't be happy because others have it better. It's not right. And… sorry about joking about the cat before, if I knew you… anyway, just know that down here you're away from all that. You've got Paps, the old dude behind the door, Undyne, Rocky, Tori… you… have me. And if you need a home, you can always find one down here." Sans's voice was surprisingly soft.

Frisk stared at him for a few seconds in bewilderment. Then she let herself smile.

That… had felt so damn good.

She didn't know what to say at first.

"Sans… thank… you… you know what?" Frisk picked up her drink.

"Huh?" Sans blinked.

Frisk took a breath and took a long gulp of the drink.

It was really strong. But it burned her throat like hell was unleashed in her mouth. She forced herself not to gag it back up and swallow.

She put the cup back on the table and wiped her mouth with her arm.

"The past is the past, and the surface is the past as well. So screw it."

Sans looked at her in shock for a few moments before laughing and patting her shoulder (she was sure he was going to slap her back but he thought twice and decided for a more gentler gesture instead. He really was trying to stay on her nice list this time.)

"That's my Snap pea! Damn, you're pretty tough. Looks like we don't need somethin' fruity after all. Grillby owes me ten for losing the bet now!"

Frisk smirked.

"Lets see who can down theirs fastest."

"Frisky is getting' a little risky over here. Don't bite off more than you can chew, little wolf!"

"The only little wolf here is you."

"In your dreams!"

…

She felt _good._

That was the most fun she had… ever, really. And she didn't even drink that much.

She felt like she could kill _anything._

Sans seemed to be in a similar state of mind.

He had more than she did, but they were both too busy messing around to do much drinking.

For some odd reason they decided to go to the place in Snowdin forest on top of the big hill. With the good view.

Sans called it the wolfie cliff.

"Are you sure it's safe to climb up a cliff like this?" Thank goodness even though she was slightly drunk Frisk still had common sense.

"Naw, s'fine. You're the one who needs t'worry, you can't walk straight!"

"Yes I can!"

"Y'r walking crooked. See."

Sans pointed at her tracks.

Frisk looked back.

Tracks….

"What?"

"They're crooked!"

"You're crooked."

"The world is crooked."

"true."

They were at the edge of Snowdin town now, ready to venture into the forest.

…Papyrus would kill them. Well, Papyrus would kill Sans, Toriel would kill her.

Angry goat mom.

As Frisk walked behind Sans, something caught her nose.

Frisk stopped and sniffed the air.

Something smelled… off. She couldn't put her mind on it- she was a little foggy- but something… she knew it from somewhere.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She felt like she was being watched.

"…Sans?" Frisk called in a hushed voice.

"What?" He was much too loud.

"Sans, shhh… something's… off." Frisk started shaking.

Why did she feel so cold all of the sudden? Where did the alcohol go?

"You're off." Sans joked.

"Sans…" Frisk pleaded.

Her tail was twitching anxiously.

Finally, Sans froze.

Frisk heard why.

Footsteps.

By the time she turned, all she caught was a glimpse of Uno - Thorns brother -with Treyco and Spike standing behind him. In his hands was a small, round gun like machine.

"Lets see how he does after _this."_

There was a flash, and a loud bang that hurt her ears.

The next instant she heard Sans scream out in pain.


	22. Chapter 20- Darkest part of me

"SANS!"

Frisk ran over to the skeleton, who was curled up in the snow, trembling.

She could see tiny blue sparks around his eye, like his eye was trying to activate his magic. But it couldn't. He was breathing heavily and quaking, small moans of pain escaping his mouth.

Frisk knelt beside him and put her hand in his shoulder, her heart racing. Tears of panic burned her eyes.

What could she do?

"Sans, are you okay? Can you hear me?" Frisk tried looking him over, but he didn't let her turn him over. There seemed to be no blood.

Sans wheezed in response.

Frisk heard snow crunch ahead of them.

"His magic capabilities have been disabled. That would normally kill a monster. Looks like he had more magic than I thought. But, now you're both harmless and vulnerable…" Uno flashed her a wide, snarling grin.

Frisk grabbed Sans protectively.

"What do you want?!" Frisk snarled.

"Your death. That's what!" Uno snapped back.

"You killed my brother! You killed him! He was our leader, our inspiration! He was the person I looked up to most, and you turned him to dust!"

Frisk flinched.

"I…I…"

"Frisk…" Sans groaned, opening his eye quickly before shutting it again.

Frisk felt an overwhelming surge of heat.

 _How. Dare. He._

Frisk's expression hardened with the burning rage.

Spike and Treyco flinched behind Uno, seemingly uncertain of their current situation.

"I _killed_ the coward because he was going to kill _us._ And if _you don't_ want to meet the same fate I suggest you leave. _Now."_ The last word was drawn out, full of venom Frisk never had before.

 _I finally found I place, people I would defend. He. Is. Not. Taking. That. Away._

Uno took a step forward, while his underlings exchanged nervous glances.

Frisk felt a tug on her arm.

She looked down at Sans, who had turned himself over and was panting, breath coming out as puffs in the night air.

"Fr… risk… don't… just go…"

Frisk's brow furrowed.

"What? No."

"Please… I don't want… you… you to end up like… me… just leave me… here… I'll be fine…" Frisk could almost feel his pain just from his voice.

"Sans, I said no. I'm not leaving. If I have to fight, I'll fight. But I won't leave. I've always been a goddamn coward. You've saved my life time after time. It's time I get my coward ass out there. And, you know what? I'm still being a coward. Because I'm more scared of losing my pack than losing a fight."

"P…pack?"

Frisk gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, pack. We're both wolves, right? Two wolves are a pack. And a wolf never leaves a pack mate, right? I'd think you get it, since I'm talking your language."

Sans opened his mouth to reply, but then closed it, returning her smile.

"Enough of this nonsense. You're both gonna be _dead_." Uno growled.

Frisk stood up, stepping in front of Sans.

She was oddly calm. Whether it was the alcohol or not she didn't know. But her mind was a sharp shard of ice, and her determination ablaze.

"Last warning. Leave."

Uno tilted his head.

"Hmmm… how about... no. Let's go!" He barked.

He moved forward, the cat and dragon both moving to cover a side of him.

Frisk snarled.

 _I don't have my dagger… I have nothing to fight with… if worse comes to worse, I can try to lead them away from Sans…_

Frisk saw Uno exchange a quick glance with Treyco.

Suddenly, Uno leaped forward.

Frisk saw Treyco running off to her side with her peripheral vision.

Uno snapped at her, his teeth mere inches from her face.

Frisk turned to face Treyco, who had come up from the side with claws unsheathed.

Frisk ducked the cat's slashing claws, hearing her scarf rip above her.

Seeing an opening while Treyco's arm was still outstretched, Frisk rammed her body into the cat's stomach as hard as she could, sending Treyco rolling in the snow.

As she did, teeth clamped down on her arm.

Frisk cried out and hit Uno, trying to get him off her arm. He grabbed her shoulders hard with his paws, digging his claws into the flesh.

Frisk struggled to get free as Spike came up from the side, readying his tail.

Frisk finally got the dog to let go by swiping at his ear, putting a deep nick in it with her nails. The dog yelped and jumped back, spit flying in his wake.

She was too late, however, and was slammed by Spike's heavy tail.

Frisk's cry was cut off as she slammed into the snow, the breath leaving her body. Everything spun as she fought to stay awake.

Blood crept its way up her throat and out her mouth.

"Who's gonna save you now? No one! You disgusting, pitifulcreature." Uno snarled above her.

This was followed by a swift kick to her ribs.

Frisk couldn't make a sound, instead letting out a strangled wheeze. She coughed up blood, the liquid appearing black in the night.

It _hurt._

Uno kicked her again, then kicked her head so she turned over. This time she managed to let out a screech.

She couldn't breath, couldn't move, couldn't-

There was loud, deep barking somewhere to her right.

"Shit-"

There was savage snarling as something _huge_ came and tackled Uno, smacking him away with a large spear.

Frisk recognized that armor. Royal guard armor… fluffy…

Rocky?

Everything was still blurry.

Rocky bent down in front of her, his face wrinkling with concern.

"Frisk! Are you okay, oh jeez, that look-"

Frisk forced herself up, whining at the pain in her entire body. It screamed at her to lie down and just give in. She tried to fight the tears forcing their way into her eye.

"N-no, stay still. Jeez, you're bleeding a lot…"

"I'm fine…" Frisk managed, her voice rough.

Rocky exhaled, before standing up. He dug his spear into the ground and glared at the gang, his expression now stern.

"What do you think you're doing, beating up a helpless girl! How low can you get?!"

Frisk got to her knees, cursing internally.

 _I am not helpless…_

Uno tilted his head, sadistic smile returning.

"Oh, look, it's a royal guard runt. I've seen you, acting all nice and righteous. Well, in war the nice side never wins. You're gonna regret the day you chose kindness over common sense." Uno rubbed his shoulder, and Frisk noticed red staining the fur.

Frisk finally found her feet, swaying slightly.

"I heard a lot of commotion, and came over to see what was up. I'm glad I did…" Rocky said to her.

"So am I… they attacked Sans and used some weird gun to drain his magic, and… he's hurt…" Frisk looked back over at Sans, expecting to see him passed out in the snow.

But he was very awake.

He was staring directly at her, one hand over his chest. His eyes were wide and dark, lights gone. Tears trickled down his cheekbones.

Frisk cringed.

 _Does it hurt that bad? I've never seen Sans cry… those bastards!_

Frisk felt herself bristle, clenching her teeth as a loud growl shook her body.

Rocky blinked, a little surprised.

A bark rang out.

Uno and his gang rushed forward again.

Rocky jumped and aimed at Treyco, then spun around to hit Spike with the side of his spear. Treyco tried to jump on him, but Rocky slammed the cat back.

While Rocky was busy with those two, Uno faced Frisk once again.

Frisk leaped forward this time, taking all the strength in her good arm and slamming her fist into Uno's face.

Uno barely budged.

"That's all you got? You're a joke." Uno pulled back his fist and hammered her in the face before she could move.

Frisk snapped at his hand, swiping her nails across his arm. She felt her claw-like nails cut through the skin. Air escaped Uno's mouth in a hiss.

Frisk jumped back, but Uno didn't let her get distance. He kicked her in the side, where he kicked her before, sending her to the ground.

This time, Frisk knew better. She went with the flow of the hit.

While his one leg was still in the air she swept his other leg out from under him, causing him to crash to the snow.

He snarled and tackled her, running his claws along her torso while his hind claws dug into her leg.

Frisk yelped and bit his arm with all her might. She felt her teeth sink through the flesh and blood gush into her mouth.

While they struggled, Uno got her ear in his teeth and bit down hard. Frisk screeched, her head going dizzy with the horrible pain. It traveled down her ear and into her neck, the sensitive appendage tearing under his fangs.

Frisk couldn't get out from under him, no matter how hard she thrashed.

He slammed his knee into her stomach, causing her to lose her breath again.

He shook his arm free from her teeth, the flesh tearing. She was kicking at him, trying to get him off, but he had a firm grip on her with his claws.

The next thing she knew teeth flashed in front of her throat, hit breath hitting her face.

Frisk's heart skipped a beat.

Snarling, with saliva dripping from his mouth and onto her, Uno grabbed a sharp hold of her injured ear and _pulled._

Frisk didn't know she could scream at that pitch.

He pulled her head back, exposing her throat.

"Say goodbye, little human. See you in hell, wh-"

" _ **Get. Off!"**_

Uno looked up for a brief second, only to be thrown off by a black-and-white blur.

What sounded like the most intense, harsh dog fight ensued, snapping and growling. Snarling, rough barks, yelps.

Frisk sat paralyzed for a few moments, mouth agape as she tried to recover her breath.

 _Th-that wasn't R-Rocky…_

Frisk heard panicked , weak yelps.

"Oh my god, Uno!" Treyco called from where both he and Spike and been fighting Rocky. They had all stopped.

Frisk shot up, wincing in pain.

She would never forget what she saw.

Sans and Uno were struggling in the snow, Uno desperately kicking and clawing and biting Sans, trying to get him off. Sans sounded like a real wolf, his growls deep and animalistic. He had his sharp, wolf teeth buried in Uno's throat, blood rushing from the wound and covering both him and his opponent.

Frisk could only stare as Uno struggled in vain, as he slowly got weaker and weaker.

"Frisk, get him off!" Rocky called.

Frisk looked over at him, shaking. Rocky's eyes were wide.

"S-S-Sans, s-stop!" She tried to get up, but stumbled back down.

Sans froze. Uno was hardly moving now.

She could see his eyes widen as he looked down at his blood-soaked opponent.

Frisk stared in horror as Sans stood from Uno. He was covered in crimson, and it dribbled from his chin in long lines.

She couldn't stop her shaking body, the sick feeling in her gut. There was so much blood- on Sans, on Uno, scattered around the glittering snow...

Uno sat up, blood pouring from his torn neck. He looked up, his dull eyes set with one dying sparkle.

"You…" his speech was accompanied by an ugly gurgle.

"You two… really are… demons… wolves… demons that come when Called. Just like that… pussy King of ours… you're all servants of death, beckoned by evil… you act all cute, all noble…. But… you're not like us… you're dangerous… deadly… all of you wolves… all… of…" Uno gave one last cough as all light left his eyes, and he collapsed on the ground.

His body faded to dust, dull against the glittering snow.

"He's… he…" Frisk stammered.

She heard a low, pained sound beside her.

She looked over, to see Sans looking down. His eyes were dark.

The wolf ghost- his- was beside him. The wolf was shaking, eyes wide. Suddenly, a patch of fur on its flank darkened, and turned black.

 _Wh-what's… happening?!_

She could see Rocky staring down solemnly at the pile of dust.

"They… they are… traitors to our kind. He was a traitor… I… I didn't want him to die, but… maybe it's for the better, y'know? I don't know…" Rocky said, looking off to the side.

Frisk noticed Sans's hand tighten into a fist.

Treyco and Spike exchanged glances.

Treyco raised his paws.

"We surrender. He was our last leader. We want no more of this death. Or you demons." Treyco looked up at them, eyes dark.

Frisk flinched. Sans didn't react at all.

Rocky turned to them.

"Then you are under arrest. You will be sent to the capital for trial."

Frisk coughed. Her whole body hurt so much. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, disoriented. Blood was still leaking from the wound in her arm, and she was bleeding in plenty of other places as well. Looking down, Frisk realized her sweater was torn to shreds. Uno's claws had gouged deep lines into her skin, and tore the fabric covering it. Where it wasn't torn it was soaked in blood. How much of it was actually hers she didn't know.

Her left ear- the injured one- was ringing terribly and she was certain she couldn't hear out of it. Her head hurt bad, and she was almost sure she had a concussion. She had to have at least one broken rib.

Thorn was calm and calculated, and got where he needed fast, without tearing up the package. Uno had been driven by rage, tearing and tearing until he was torn apart himself.

Frisk heard crunching footsteps.

She turned to find Sans walking away.

"Sans! Wait!" She tried, but he completely ignored her.

 _Something's wrong…_

Frisk looked back at the pile of dust before forcing her legs to move. She couldn't move nearly as fast as he was, but from his direction she guessed he was heading home.

Rocky didn't say a word.

 _Thank you… Rocky… but Sans needs my help…_

She was left with a feeling of distress as she limped after him, watching him get further and further away. She was trying her hardest, but her body just didn't want to move.

Eventually, they reached the house.

Papyrus was at the door.

"Brother! I heard lots o- oh my god…" Papyrus put his gloved hands over his mouth.

"Move." Sans's voice was shaking.

Papyrus's gaze turned to her as she finally reached them. His eyes widened even more.

"H-HUMAN! You… you're hurt! You're hurt bad! What happ-"

"Don't worry about it. Let me in." Frisk had never heard Sans talk to Papyrus like that.

"B-but Sans, I have to worry! You both come home hurt and I'm not supposed to worry!?" Papyrus sounded hysterical, and Frisk didn't blame him.

"JUST LET ME IN!" Sans yelled, catching the both of them off guard.

Papyrus's eyes went even wider if possible, and he silently moved to the side.

Sans stormed into the house.

Frisk slowly started to follow.

She could see tears in Papyrus's eyes. She felt terrible… like her guts were being ripped apart by his eyes alone.

She paused before passing him.

"I'm sorry, Papy… I'll explain later, ok? Something is wrong with Sans right now… I'm sure he didn't mean to yell." She said softly.

Papyrus wiped his eyes, his shoulders shaking.

Frisk almost cried herself.

She followed Sans inside, not stopping to wipe her feet. She followed him up the stairs, a low whine escaping her throat from the pain.

Everything was on fire and she couldn't stop it.

As he went into his room and grabbed the door, she put her arm in the way to stop him.

His eyes were still black.

"Move your arm."

Frisk looked at him with concern, panting.

"Sans, wait, please-"

"There's nothing to wait for. Leave me alone."

"No! Not after that! Just wait a few minutes, please!"

Sans opened the door wider.

"Go. You shouldn't be around me,."

Frisk blinked.

"Wh-what do you mean…"

"You saw. He was right about me. I was stupid to try to think otherwise."

"Are you really listening to him? He's the crazy one. Look at what he did to both of us!"

Sans's expression twisted.

"And he wasn't the first! Not to mention, all of this would be avoided if you just fucking left me. This is my fault, just leave me in peace now. You've already rubbed it in enough."

Frisk's hand turned into a fist.

"What, I leave you, they kill you, what after? They would find me and kill me too. So what's better, huh? And it wasn't your fault." Frisk's voice was surprisingly quiet.

However, Sans's got louder.

"Oh, so you're gonna play the innocent, accident game? Well, wake the fuck up, because this is reality. That wasn't a fucking accident. I meant to kill him. It wasn't like your accident in Waterfall."

Frisk's eyes widened slightly.

"No, you didn't, y-"

Sans got closer. He still had blood all over his face.

"Yes, I did. I knew what I was doing. I saw what he was doing to you. And I thought "I am going to tear his throat out." And that's what I did. I knew what I was doing."

Frisk was quiet for a moment.

"… then why did you look so scared?"

"Because no matter what I do I can't escape the fact that I'm always going to be covered in blood. Mine or someone else's. Now just let me suffer alone."

"Yours…" Frisk felt her gut drop.

She saw a glimmer of light, and his ghost wolf appeared behind him with its ears lowered and tail tucked between its legs.

Frisk's eyes turned to his right arm. She held a dark feeling in her gut.

"Sans. I'm not leaving you alone. You just pushed your brother away, and I know you've done it before. You need to talk to someone, and I'll be fine if that's me, or if you go down to talk to Papyrus. Or anyone else."

"I don't need to talk shit."

"Yes, you do."

"What?! Do I just go down to Papyrus and tell him that I just fucking killed a person?! Of all the things I've done wrong!? Fuck you!"

"I gave you a choice." Frisk said patiently.

"I'm not talking to anyone. These are my problems and mine alone. Leave."

"No."

Sans went to close his door, but Frisk kept her arm in the way.

"Leave." Sans ordered again.

Frisk took a step forward.

"No. Sans, why is your right arm the way it is."

If Sans's eyes weren't dark before, they certainly were now.

"None of your business."

She pointed at the spot where she knew the deep scars were hidden under the fabric.

"How did that happen."

"GO!" Sans snapped.

Frisk looked him in the eyes, feeling hollow herself.

She knew her answers now.

His wolf looked at her fearfully.

"You did that to yourself, didn't you."

Sans looked like he was about to tackle her, but just barely controlled himself in time. His body was shaking without control.

"Leave me alone."

"You see them too, right? The wolves. Sans, I'm learning. You can't hide from a wolf, remember?" Her voice was so small, so sad.

Previously, she would have snapped and yelled at him for being such an asshole.

But…

Back then she didn't know just how broken he was.

"G-get away from me. NOW."

Frisk didn't say anything, but stared. Sans moved her arm away himself and slammed the door so hard she thought she heard it crack.

"I'm not leaving. So either you come back out or I stay here until you do."

"Stay there all night then." Sans snarled from behind the door.

She heard the lock click.

Frisk sighed and leaned against the door, letting her body fall.

She was so _tired._

 _Sans… how could I never have noticed? I have no idea what he meant… about any of that. But that's why his wolf brought me down there. Because he knew how troubled Sans is. Sans made the same mistake I did, but apparently multiple times. Or… I guess he said it wasn't a mistake. But why would he be so bothered if it wasn't? No, you could still kill somebody purposely and be ashamed. He has anger flashes. He gets so angry, so fast, and it's so quick. He must not have been thinking right. Just like now. I'm sure he'll calm down shortly, and if he doesn't tonight he'll be fine tomorrow. Heh, when did I ever start making so many excuses for him?_

Frisk let herself make a tiny, sad smile to herself.

She noticed Papyrus standing on the top of the stairs.

"H-h-human… I don't know what I should do about your injuries… you look very badly hurt." Papyrus sounded so scared. Frisk scolded herself for making him scared.

She rested her head against the edge of the wall.

She wasn't going to deny she was badly hurt. She could feel it.

"We'll worry about it tomorrow. Sans just needs a little time alone, and I'm waiting here for him. You should go to bed. Everything will be okay." She found herself falling into the same habit Sans did when handling Papyrus.

Papyrus averted his gaze.

"B-but I… Sans always reads me a bedtime story."

Frisk exhaled.

"If it would make you feel better, I'll read you a story."

…

After reading Papyrus his book, Frisk went right back outside Sans's door.

She coughed every now and again, and sometimes dark blood would come up. It wasn't very much, though, so Frisk ignored it.

Well, she was still bleeding elsewhere, including the fact she still had her period, so she probably didn't have enough blood to cough up.

She remembered she forgot to change her pad. Oh well. More blood on her clothes wouldn't hurt.

She also wondered if she should be dead yet. A normal human would at least be passed out from this, but maybe being Moon-Blood changed that.

She wanted to sleep so bad.

Thinking back to it, she could see what Sans meant. He had the demeanor of a savage wolf, tearing apart its prey.

And they thought he was harmless after his magic was depleted.

She chuckled weakly at the irony.

The only sound in the house was her coughing, wheezing and the _click-click_ of the clock. She sat at the door for hours, mind empty. Just _surviving._ She was lucky. If she was thinking, she would be thinking about how much pain she was in.

It wasn't an extremely intense pain in one spot, rather a continuous one all over.

She hadn't though about Resetting at all.

She realized she really had been brave back there.

She let herself bask in her achievement. When she first fell she would've run. She wouldn't have known how to fight at all. She wouldn't have let her wolf side guide her. She wouldn't have drank at Grillby's. She had already grown so much, and she still had so much to do.

But maybe it was time the growing focused on someone else. Someone who was a little too stubborn.

Frisk heard a click.

Her good ear pricked.

She could see his feet under the door. He stood there for a long time, not moving.

Eventually, the door opened slowly.

She looked up.

Sans had discarded his jacket. He also looked a little better cleaned up, but blood was still dotting his undershirt.

"…Frisk…"

"Don't say it. I know you're sorry." She could tell by his guilty, burnt out expression.

Sans's shoulders slumped even more.

"… do you really have to sit there?"

"Yes."

"You're bleeding. I can see blood on the carpet from inside my room."

"Whoops."

"Frisk… why are you doing this? You're hurt. You could be fast asleep resting now."

Frisk closed her eyes.

"Remember what I said? I said that I wasn't leaving you. That didn't apply just then, you know. Even if you're being a douch. Because you said you'd always be there for me. Well, I think it's only fair if it goes the other way too. And I don't think I could sleep even if I wanted too. Everything hurts like hell. Maybe I could pass out from blood loss, heh." Frisk chuckled.

Sans's brow-bones fell.

"Frisk… please don't joke like that. I…" his voice was starting to shake.

Frisk's head snapped up in surprise when she heard a sniff. Sans had tears in his eye sockets.

"I don't know why I have to be this way… I get this ability, I get to be a Moon-Blood, a wolf, and… and I screw it up. I screw everything up. Why try, I always say? Why try when you fuck everything up? Why try when it could always be reset anyways? Why the hell…" Sans put his fist on the doorway, looking down. Tears were dripping onto the floor.

 _Sans…_

"Y'know… I really started trying for you… I've never done that for anyone other than Paps… I really started to think it was worth it. Look at you. You're the kind of person who deserves to be a wolf. Yes, you make mistakes, but… but that's what they are. Mistakes. The ghosts naturally go to you. You learn to follow them on your own. You're a natural, you know. It took me forever to do any of that. That's why I read so many books on them… and all you had to do was exist. Heh." Sans wiped his face.

"Sans… I'm only that way because of you, you know."

Sans shook his head.

"I doubt it. I really do. I should've never been able to have this ability. I should have never been given any chance… at anything. I just want… I want it to stop, dammit, but I can't… I can't talk either… I just can't…"

Sans started crying again. She could tell he was trying his hardest to compress it by how hard he was shaking, but he was failing. Small, strangled sobs made their way out of his throat.

It brought tears to her eyes as well. The sound was unbearable.

"Sans…"

She stared for a few heartbeats before grabbing the doorframe, slowly pushing herself up. She grunted from the new pain and limped over to him.

He didn't look up.

Frisk grabbed him and pulled him into a hug, resting her head on his shoulder-bones. She had to tilt her head slightly to keep her bad ear from touching his skull.

Sans sobbed again, this one louder. She could feel it.

He slowly eased into the hug, raised his arms and pulled her closer. He buried his head in her shoulder.

"Sans…" Frisk closed her eyes. "I'm sorry."

* * *

 **I need a tissue :c I am legit crying right now.**

 **My god.**

 **And you thought everything was fine again.**

 **These poor guys don't get a rest.**


	23. Chapter 21- Storm

**Fun fact, Sans is said 90 times in this chapter.**

 **That is completely relevant information we all need to know.**

 **It will stop the world from ending.**

* * *

Frisk noticed just how cold she had been sitting outside of Sans's room.

Sans was so _warm,_ and she allowed herself to bask in this.

Eventually, Sans stopped crying. He seemed to be trying to force himself, but when that didn't work he naturally calmed down.

Somehow his voice sounded like a human's would after crying or perhaps having a cold.

"S-sorry…"

"So… are you ready to talk now?"

Sans was quiet for a moment.

"… not now, okay? I know you're worried- why you care about an asshole like me I don't know- but you have to wait. I… dammit, I hate making promises… but if we wait for now, and if I promise to come to you when I'm ready, will you take that?"

Frisk closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Fine. I understand. You just nee-ow." Sans had pulled his head back and brushed against her bad ear.

Suddenly, without his support, she felt lightheaded. She nearly fell back, but righted herself by grabbing the doorframe in time.

Sans's eyes widened with concern.

"Are you okay… alright, bad question. Jeez, I should have gotten you help sooner, you're beat up real bad…" Sans was looking her up and down.

Frisk swallowed.

"It's… I just need… a… little rest, is all. It's not that bad."

"Stop. Look at you. You're lucky you're still conscious after all that blood loss. God… your ear looks…" Sans's empty eyes were now on her ear.

"Is it that bad?"

"The things mangled… come on, you need to lie down."

To her confusion, Sans opened his room.

"Why aren't we-"

"A bed is better than the couch. And it's closer. Frisk, you're acting like you're not seriously hurt, but you are. Is somethin' wrong in your head?"

"Probably." She joked. Frisk didn't try to fight him and she followed at a sickening pace. Her body felt tingly and weak. Like it was made of paper.

Sans moved his blanket aside, and motioned to her to sit.

Frisk nearly toppled over.

"Are you sure you want me to sit here? I'm kinda bleeding, and-"

"Better than you dying on the carpet. I'm going to go get the aid kit. _Don't_. _Move_." Sans pointed at her for emphasis and then walked out of the room.

Frisk sat for a couple of heartbeats doing nothing but staring straight ahead.

Then she realized that her head felt too heavy for her body.

 _Lying down doesn't count as moving, right?_

Frisk noticed the room seemed a little darker.

She decided that laying her head down wasn't going to hurt anyone.

She didn't anticipate passing out.

…

The next thing she knew it was light again.

Frisk was a little disoriented, wondering _what the hell and how long did Sans take?_

Then she deduced she must have fallen asleep.

She was still in Sans's bed, covered in blankets. Sans must be on the couch.

She felt bad for kicking him out of his own bed.

Moving her arm slightly, she realized she was all bandaged up as well.

 _Kinda creepy he did that while I was out but I guess it had to be done. I wonder if-_

Frisk's thoughts were cut off as she entered a coughing fit. It felt like something was in her lungs and wouldn't come out. She tasted blood.

 _That's not good. I'm still coughing it up?_

The coughs shook her body, sending jolts of pain _everywhere._

Just when she thought it was over, it started again. Frisk sat up and took in gulps of air between coughs.

 _Ow ow ow ow please stop, it hurts, ow_

Sans came through the door.

"You okay? You swallow wrong or something?"

Frisk opened her mouth to say something but ended up coughing instead.

What the _hell?_

The repeated coughing was making her feel the beginnings of a gag.

 _Uh oh, need to leave-_

Frisk stood up. Sans rushed over.

"Frisk?"

"Garbage bag." Frisk managed between coughs.

Sans's eye sockets widened.

"Oh-shit, I've got a garbage can over here." Sans rushed over and pulled a shiny clean, almost unused garbage can from under his desk

Frisk didn't have time to think as she rushed over to it as fast as her injured body would allow and started to gag from all the coughing.

Seconds later her stomach couldn't take it and it was emptied.

And did it _hurt_.

For some reason it felt like her body was self destructing, and she couldn't stop the tears that slid down her cheeks.

"Some on Frisk, try to breathe. Come on…"

Frisk felt Sans's hand lightly on her back, rubbing it in long, slow circles. She hardly noticed.

After an eternity of torture, she finally stopped coughing and dry-heaving. The room spun.

She fell back onto her rear end and took short breaths, her chest and torso aching with pain.

Sans had leaned forward and was looking into the garbage can. She would have made a comment about how weird it was to stare at someone else's vomit if she wasn't in so much pain.

Something seemed to scare him. His eye-lights were till dull, probably due to low magic. But they were gone now.

"Uhh… a majority of this is blood. That's not good. At all. Humans aren't supposed to vomit blood, right?"

Frisk wiped her mouth, panting. At least the pain was starting to go away.

"No shit… Sherlock."

Sans turned to her with a frown.

"Not funny. I'm gonna go get Tori. Hopefully she can do something."

Frisk let out a little cough in response.

"There's always… something that goes wrong with me, huh."

Sans ignored her comment and let her lean on him while she went back to the bed.

She curled up under the blanket, exhausted.

But just after Sans left she forced herself up to go change into better, non blood soaked clothes.

Upon looking at the clock, it was rather early. Papyrus was still asleep.

Changing was a huge pain- literally. Her body didn't want to move in the slightest. She was covered in bruises and gashes.

Uno really was out for blood. Literally.

After she got out of her bloodied clothes she collapsed back on the bed.

 _sucks how I just got better from the infection. This can't be good for my health, getting beat up like this. I've got so many new and old injuries... Guess that's what I get, huh._

She stared blankly at the wall for some time, coughing a little here and there.

She was frightened when the door opened again without warning. She was too spaced to notice the creaking and other sounds that would have signaled it.

"She's in here."

"Oh, dear, are you alright?!"

Frisk looked up as Toriel rushed over.

She didn't sit up.

"Hi, Toriel."

Toriel crouched beside the bed. Her ear fur was messy and she was wearing pajamas. Not typical out-wear.

Toriel's brown eyes widened.

"Oh my god… who did this to you, my child?"

She exchanged glances with Sans.

"Long… story."

Toriel put her paw against her forehead. Frisk realized just how big she was.

"No fever. Do you feel sick?"

"No. My lungs don't feel great, though. And I just vomited blood. It hurt like hell." Frisk let out a weak chuckle.

Toriel's eyes skimmed her over.

"Was your stomach bothering you?"

"No. I just coughed too much."

"You may have an injured lung. You should have gotten help sooner, dear!" Toriel scolded.

"This happened late at night."

Toriel's brow furrowed.

"Still, it is not good that you stayed this way for that long. I am afraid that I cannot help internal injury, at least as fast as I need to in this case. Especially since you have so many other injuries. I am no doctor, just a mother. We need a real doctor for this."

Sans stepped closer.

Toriel turned to him.

"You seem hurt as well, Sans."

"It's nothin. A bite, a few scratches and less magic than I should have. But where are we gonna get a doctor? There's none here, and if we take her to the capital there will be issues. Plus It's far, and we need someone who can heal humans. Which is against the point of collecting their souls." Sans's voice held a bit of scorn, which she had never heard before.

Toriel nodded solemnly.

"This is all true. That is why I am stumped."

"Well…" Sans blinked. "I think… maybe I could ask Alphys if she knows anything about humans? She is the royal scientist, and… I have reason to believe she knows more about humans than she should." Sans's eyes went dark.

Frisk felt a shudder pass through her body.

"Alphys? Do you think she has medical experience?"

Sans looked away.

"Trust me."

Frisk forced herself up, grunting.

She had heard Alphys's name so many times, she was excited to finally meet her.

Sans didn't like her getting up.

"No, no,no. No moving. Look, I know you changed while I was gone. Stay."

"Sans, I can move, it's fine."

"Just cause you can do something doesn't mean you should do it."

"We've gotta go to Alphys, right? So let's go."

"You aren't going anywhere."

"Then I'll sit here and slowly die."

"No. That is not allowed in this household."

"I can't reverse death. What am I, The Dragonballs?"

"Hehe, I get it. Anime reference aside, just don't die. That simple."

"Sans it doesn't work like that."

"It does now."

Toriel cleared her throat.

"Enough, enough. Sans, while I believe she should stay out if what you say is true it's much better to take her there. You have your shortcuts, yes? That way Alphys can work right there." Toriel said.

"But… I don't know if I have enough juice to get there and back. I can't even keep my eyes fully lit." Sans pointed at his eyes.

Frisk noticed his right one was completely out.

The left was rather dull.

He shook his head like a dog shaking it's fur, and the right eye flickered back on.

 _Huh. Like a broken lightbulb._

"Well, maybe stay there. Alphys can't carry surgical equipment here, and you can't carry Frisk through Waterfall."

"I could, I'm just too lazy."

Frisk snorted.

"Oh, I'm so glad. If I were dying you'd just leave me here because you're lazy. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Remember death isn't allowed in this household. Begone!"

"I'm sure Alphys would let you stay for a little while. She's a nice girl." Toriel said.

"… maybe…" Sans looked at Frisk.

"It could wait till… tomorrow. It hurts, but I'm not… dying at the current moment, so-"

"No dear. It will only get worse. You will have trouble sleeping and even if you do get to sleep you are not guaranteed to wake up again." Toriel's voice went dark.

Sans's eyes widened.

"I'll go. And Frisk, you're going too. Anything you wanna bring?"

"Sans, you don't have too. Really…" Frisk trailed off.

"Hey, Tori, can you leave for a sec? I need to talk to Frisk." Sans seemed so oddly serious now.

Toriel glanced between them and nodded, leaving the room.

"What was that for?"

Sans turned to her.

"Something's wrong. You aren't acting right."

"Huh?"

Sans stepped closer and sat beside her in the bed. Frisk didn't complain about how his arm brushed against hers.

"You're acting like you did after the trap in Waterfall. I don't know if you are doing it consciously or not, or if it's just an overdrive of determination. You're taking so recklessly. I don't like it. Remember, just because you can reset doesn't make you invincible."

Frisk felt a shudder going through her body.

She looked down at her lap.

"I… I don't know… am I?"

"Yeah. Frisk, I know you don't mean it in this situation but you really scare me. You remind me of myself, and you don't wanna know why."

Frisk looked back up.

"… Sans, I'm getting bad vibes. You're gonna have to talk sometime…wh-"

Sans leaned and and pulled her into a hug.

Frisk's tail bristled slightly in surprise, then smoothed down.

"…we've been hugging a lot, you know." Frisk chuckled.

"… I know. I'll talk, remember? Not now. Just watch it, okay?"

"Okay… so, are we going to Alphys?" Frisk asked.

Sans rested his head on her shoulder.

"Yeah. Do you want me to get you a hot cocoa or a coffee before we go?"

"I… don't know… I guess…" Frisk closed her eyes.

"That's a yes. I could use some coffee myself." Sans chuckled.

…

Sans ended up buying a ton of stuff.

Frisk scolded him, but he didn't care.

He had gotten an entire shopping bag of candy, three bags of jerkey, two bottles of ketchup, a container of iced coffee, microwave meals and two fluffy blankets with two pairs of matching socks.

Talk about being prepared for a sleepover.

Sans insisted they brought all of this.

Both Frisk and Toriel thought this was a bad idea.

Sans was not going to be swayed.

So they teleported to the lab looking like the just made a trip to the grocery store.

Walking through the snow was a large pain to her, and it didn't help the coughing.

At least Sans knew to move slowly. He let her lean on him as well.

Frisk realized they had been physically close a lot recently. She had regained her trust with him fast, and it was even stronger than before. How that had ended up happening she didn't know.

But… she liked it.

Hopefully he'd learn to trust her as much too.

The lab was huge and a pale white, paler than the snow. The doors were sliding doors, and they didn't seem touch activated due to the snow. Instead, they opened just as they walked in front of them.

Frisk was blasted with heat from the inside. It almost burned.

The skeletons house was relatively cool, but it seemed warm and toasty compared to the outside. This was hot. It was a major difference and not one Frisk was sure she liked.

It was rather dark inside, and smelled strongly of fur and strawberries. Frisk raised her head and sniffed the air, testing her sense of smell.

 _Fur, dust, ceramic, keyboard, refrigerator, soda, noodles, heater, computer… cats._

There was a single screen giving off light, the screen of a large computer. As they stepped in, Frisk heard a hiss.

Sans growled.

 _Uh oh…_

"Hey, Al."

She heard the tap of claws on the floor, almost like someone jumped.

"Oh, S-s-Sans! Wh-what a-a surprise, w-what are you d-doing here?"

Frisk saw light reflecting off of a pair of glasses, and seconds later the lights flicked on.

And oh boy, when she said cats, did she mean _cats._

There were a ton of them, everywhere. On the desk, on the escalating stairs, on every desk, all over the sofa, on the railing to the second floor. Of all different shapes, colors, sizes…

Cats.

"Jesus Christ almighty, Alphys, how many fucking cats do you have?"

In the spin chair in front of the computer was a lizard-like woman. She wore narrow glasses with purple rims. There was a patch of gray fur on her muzzle, and her eyes were a pale green. She wore a clean white lab coat like the ones Frisk saw in the picture in Sans's lab.

"AWWW, LOOK AT THE KITTIES!" Frisk bent down on the floor, smiling wildly.

A tiny, gray kitten pranced up to her, little blue eyes sparkling.

"Mew!"

"AAAAAAAAHHH OHMAWGOD!" Frisk picked up the little kitten, her body feeling lighter than air with happiness and cuteness overload.

"I've got… I don't k-know… 50 something?"

Sans backed away.

"WHY?! Wasn't five enough?"

"N-no… this is the human?" Alphys asked.

Frisk looked up.

"Oh, hi. I'm Frisk. I LOVE YOUR CATS!"

"I'm d-doctor A-Alphys… I love my kitties too!"

Alphys turned to Sans, who was growling at one of the cats.

"Why are you h-here S-Sans? I saw that nasty fight on the cameras, you should be r-resting."

Sans's expression darkened.

"Well… Frisk is having a little trouble. She's been coughing and vomiting blood. Tori says it's a hurt lung and she can't do anything about it. So we thought maybe you could."

Alphys's eyes widened.

"O-oh! That's not g-g-good! I t-t-think, m-maybe. I don't k-know…" Her voice quivered.

"I know you can. You need too." Sans urged. He was trying to suppress the edge to his voice and it wasn't working. He was bitter towards her for some reason.

Frisk looked up, the gray kitten resting its head on her breast. She shifted her gaze between Sans and Alphys.

"O-ok, I will t-try…"

"Thanks. Oh, and another favor? Can we stay here for the night? I can't teleport back and I'm beat." Sans asked.

Alphys blinked.

"O-of c-course S-Sans, but please d-don't hurt my babies…"

"Yeah Sans, don't hurt the babies!" Frisk held the gray kitten close.

"I hate my life. This is going to be a long night." Sans groaned.

Alphys walked over to Frisk, her hands fidgeting nervously.

"w-w-well, I-I am going to h-have you come with m-me so I can take an x-ray…"

Frisk put the gray kitten down. The kitten mewled unhappily.

"Okay…"

Frisk followed Alphys through her lab, into a small, dark room.

Alphys did her work, then told led her to another room.

This room was large, with a single table in the middle. It looked a little unused.

"Well, I've g-got too do some s-surgery to get the d-debris and drain the fluid from your right lung…"

"S-surgery?" Frisk echoed.

"Y-yeah. I-I will have to put you under sedatives first."

Frisk took a step back.

"… I don't wanna…"

"I'm s-s-sorry, b-but you h-have to…"

"FRISK, JUST DO THE FUCKIN' SURGERY!"

Frisk jumped as Sans's voice screamed down the hall.

She leaned out the door and cupped her hands around her mouth.

"What's got you in a knot?!"

"FUCKING CATS EVERY-FUCKING-WHERE! ONE JUST PISSED ON MY FUCKING SLIPPER!"

Frisk looked over at Alphys.

"… I'm sorry about him."

"Me t-too… so… you have to take this shot. It won't h-hurt…"

Frisk sighed and sat on the table.

At least she had the comfort knowing Sans was going through as much pain as she was.

…

Ugh.

Frisk felt like her head was stuffed with cotton balls…

Or maybe fluffy cats.

She giggled at the thought.

Kitties…

Frisk blinked, realizing she was awake.

There was an ache in her chest. But her lungs felt better.

Frisk sat up. She was on a small couch, with one of the fluffy blankets (the purple one) wrapped around her. She realized her torso was covered in band-aids.

There was a TV on the other side of the room, and it was currently playing Family Guy.

Sans was on the other side of the couch, his eyes shifting around the room. He really was keeping his eyes on all the cats. Soon he'd grow more eyes to keep up, she was sure.

"S-Sans?" Frisk rubbed her head.

He looked over.

"Oh, hey, you're up. How you feelin'?"

"My ear hurts. I'm hungry. It's too cold. These bandages make my bra crooked. Great."

Sans blinked.

"There's always gonna be somethin wrong with you."

"Yup."

Sans's gaze quickly found her ear before her looked at the wall.

"… you don't have to be… like that about it, Sans. I know it's all torn up. I don't care if you look at it. Though… maybe I am a little insecure going out with it… I haven't looked at it yet."

Sans's mouth was turned slightly downward.

"I'm gonna be honest, it looks horrible. Alphys patched it up with special stuff, but she said she can't fix it. I…"

Frisk tilted her head. A cat on the other side of the room meowed.

Sans shrunk.

"Hey, I'm sorry… it's my fault we got into that mess. I took you out, then I thought it would be a swell idea to go to the cliff. Then I got myself shot and you…"

Frisk blinked.

"How'd you know? You don't let me think that way, so you aren't allowed to either. I… I know it's hard not too, when something bad happens. But it isn't your fault. It's Uno's. Or, really mine, since I killed Thorn." Frisk looked away.

"But… we can't change that, right?" Frisk finished, swallowing.

To be honest, she has just put Thorn on the back burner. She wasn't over it, and she may never be over it.

Sans sighed.

"I've been thinking about it this entire time. I just… couldn't stand watching that. It was awful. I've seen some nasty things- been through some nasty things. Hell, even done some nasty things. But he was just beating the crap out of you while you were on the ground, and… I just… a part of me meant to kill him and it always will, but there's another part that can't stand that. This has happened before, you know… when I was young. I killed so many things... I never liked it, but a part of me always justified it. That sometimes the only way to end something is to kill the thing on the other side. That death is the only reason life exists. It is, but I killed needlessly. Then I killed humans. I blamed them for everything. I never thought about them having feelings or being good. Actually, I thought the entire world was dark. Funny, how the next thing that got me in a rage was a human." Sans chuckled softly.

"Listen, being a wolf is amazing. But it comes with a price. A knife is sharp, and that can be used against your enemies and yourself. Mess around and you cut yourself. Being a wolf means being a predator. No one likes us… no one likes predators. They see us as savage, and maybe we are. There's truths that may be better left buried in the dust but they are truths. We kill. Maybe not for personal gain. But death is death and no one likes it. Being a real wolf means being able to accept this and have pride in that, and I don't think I ever will be able to deal with that. I'm like a sharp knife. I'm gonna hurt everyone I touch, friend or foe. I just…" Frisk could see tears in his eye sockets.

"Sans…" Frisk leaned closer.

"I… don't know as much about this as you do. Nothing's black and white. I understand why you hate humans- hell, I hate them too. I probably looked like I'd never hurt a fly, but I still killed Thorn, right? We all have that inside of us, wolf or not. And we all make mistakes. I could start listing all of mine and we'd be here for a week. But if I've learned something down here it's that it's best to be like a wolf and live in the present. I'm still not so sure myself… I'll never have the confidence to live by that completely. But I can still try. And maybe you can too. You don't care what others think, right? So what does it care what other people think about us wolves? We might be able to kill, but they can too. It's all a level playing field. The difference is that wolves see what no one else can, and rent represent the true wild of nature. Beautiful but deadly. I think that's cool, you know?" Frisk look down.

Sans was quiet for a little while. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be thinking.

Then he leaned over to gently ruffle her hair.

"H-hey!" Frisk laughed, trying to push him off.

"You really have learned fast. It's amazing how fast you catch on, Snap pea. You really are a handful. Like a goddamn puppy."

"You wanna see a handful puppy?" Frisk pushed his hands away from her head and jumped into his lap, making sure he got tangled in the blanket. Then she leaned back on him and rested her head under his chin.

"What the hell? Get off, you fluffy lump!"

"No. If I'm a puppy I'm gonna act like it!" Frisk leaned further back.

"Uuuugggghhhh, geeeet ooooffff."

"No."

The doorknob turned, and Alphys peaked in. Her glasses reflected the glare from the tv.

They froze.

"O-oh! A-am I interrupting something?" Alphys asked.

Frisk slowly got off of Sans.

"No…"

Alphys smiled.

"W-well, I'm g-glad you're feeling a little b-better! Take it easy, though. A-also, d-do you two w-want to watch some anime?" She asked.

Frisk looked over at Sans.

"I guess…"

"Let me guess, Mew Mew Kissy Cutie?"

"Yup!" Alphys said excitedly.

… _that sounds interesting… and weird…_

Suddenly, something pawed at her leg.

Seconds later, the little gray kitten from before jumped onto her lap.

Frisk broke into a wide smile.

"Awwww! It's the little kitty from before! You're a real friendly fella, aren't you?" Frisk started petting the fluffy gray kitten, and he purred loudly.

"T-that's our newest. I just rescued him from below the MTT hotel a week and a half a-ago… I h-haven't e-even named him y-yet…" Alphys informed.

"I think he likes me." Frisk laughed as the kitten put his paws on her chest and rubbed against her cheek. It's little paw pads felt warm, and It's fur was soft like clouds.

Sans scooted over as far away as possible.

"It does l-look like that! Y-you k-know… if you w-want, you can k-k-keep h-him… He has n-never acted like that. I'd be h-happy knowing h-he is w-with someone he l-likes…"

Frisk looked up, her ears perking. She could practically feel her eyes blazing to life with happiness. Sans face-palmed beside her and groaned.

"Really!? Are you sure?!"

"Y-yeah, if you a-are…"

"YES! Oh my god yes!" Frisk hugged the kitten close, feeling the happiest she ever had.

She picked up the little gray kitten and looked into its wide blue eyes. The kitten mewed and tapped her nose with its paw.

"I think… I'm going to name you Storm!"

* * *

 **we all know Sans is getting those boners**

 **Embrace the boners**


	24. Chapter 22- Dream

**Very smol Sans POV chapter shoved in here.**

* * *

Why were they sleeping on the floor?

They had been watching Alphys's… very interesting anime. He hated cats, but _damn_ was the Neko girl fine.

It occurred to Sans that he may have a bit of an issue.

Alphys was fast asleep on her blankets, as was Frisk. Cats were everywhere. Storm- Sans's new nightmare- was curled up under Frisk's chin, putting softly.

Frisk was a very interesting human, all right.

He had grown so damn _fond_ of her. Forgetabout before, _now_ he had his problem.

He was liking the human a bit _too_ much. In not good ways.

Just being with her made him feel so much lighter. He felt he could trust her, like she could understand anything. And he found her shy but kindhearted nature charming, to say the least.

But of course, as always, Sans would NEVER breathe these words.

He knew he had to spill the beans about everything he had been through eventually. He… kind of wanted to, but weariness and fear held him back.

Being pittied wasn't his cup of tea

Sans closed his eyes and leaned back. It probably wasn't healthy to eat about twenty candy bars, a slushy, split a tub of ice cream between them, and a huge milkshake. At least he couldn't get fat. And Frisk could use some more meat on her bones.

If she stayed on his diet of sucking everything up around him that wouldn't be much of a problem.

It was a little worrisome that she still hadn't pulled back from her infection. Alphys said it was because her body has been strained by the sudden changes. He didn't understand much but apparently her "metabolism" was out of wack. And the constant injuries over the last 3 weeks wasn't good either- especially since a normal human would likely be dead. And sue was drinking too much coffee.

Sans had a feeling that wouldn't be changing in the near future. Or in the far future. Or ever.

Sans laid down on his new fuzzy blue blanket, listening to the soft push and pull of Frisk's breathing. He was beat tired. Then again, he always was. Life was tiring.

He let his face twist into his grumpy expression. He usually tried to look decently approachable. He hid so much, actually. Frisk wasn't aware yet of how prickly he could be. Most of the time his smile was more of a wolfish threat than anything.

He hadn't gotten any sleep last night, and now it was about 1 in the morning. It wasn't unusual for him. Sometimes he went weeks without more than 3 hours of sleep. He could fall asleep at day just fine, when everything weighted on him and his consciousness just slipped away. But willingly at night? Not a chance.

That's why he liked to watch TV at night. It gave him something to focus on, let him fall asleep in peace.

Now the anime was over. The computer was off. He was alone. In the dark. With himself.

The one person he hated the most. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration. He hated a lot of people. A lot.

He could hear the Amalgamates beneath the lab floors. He could hear their shifting and groaning. Their bodies shuffling along The floor, claws tapping the tiles. The light zaps of electricity. His silver soul trait was enhanced hearing, while it was quickly obvious Frisk's was an enhanced sense of smell.

This lab was stained with blood only he could see. The walls, the floors, the air. It was all covered in mistakes and grief, in pain and crimson. Frisk was unaware of it all. And he almost wanted it to stay that way.

But this lab was better than… that lab.

Sans closed his eyes and exhaled.

He was so exhausted… a bone deep ache one night of sleep couldn't cure.

He really fucked up, didn't he?

He could feel his scars- physical and mental- aching. Reminding him.

He tired to focus instead on Frisk's breathing and the patter of the cats paws.

Eventually sleep hesitantly came.

…

 _It was all so dark._

 _The walls, the floor. It was so dark._

 _He had a small room in the lab, when his fa-Gaster took him here for extended amounts of time. A tiny bed, a couple of blankets, a dresser on the other side. His stuffed dog he named Ruff. He took Ruff everywhere, except when Gaster took him to testing or something of the like. It comforted him and made him feel he wasn't alone._

 _Sans didn't understand why he had to do this. Why was he the one? Well, maybe a better question was why it had to be done in the first place. His father had a strange fixation on humans and seemed to like them a little. Sans hated them with every bone in his body. They were so evil! They hurt people. Humans trapped them down here._

 _They were the reason he had to go to this god awful lab. Because the humans. Gaster loved them more than he did his own son._

 _Then again, Sans didn't know if Gaster could love. He looked so... Lifeless. He would stare at the wall, emtpy. Sometimes Sans would feel echoes of some sort of grief, but most of the time Gaster was cold. Hard._

 _Sans sat up in the creaky bed, staring blankly at the wall. This place was so quiet, yet so loud. He heard so many things Gaster didn't. Gaster thought he was simply playing. But he could hear very well._

 _His hearing allowed him to know when Gaster was coming. He was probably needed for another… "experiment." To test out some sort of drug, or healing ability, or something._

 _Gaster never knocked. His eyes were usually very dim._

 _Sans didn't look up._

 _He didn't like looking at Gaster._

" _Child, you are needed. Come with me, please." It was strange, now he always talked with a manner of dignity. Yet Sans knew his intentions were dark._

 _But maybe not completely, right? Maybe he was forced. Or maybe Sans had done something bad he didn't remember._

 _Sans just stood up and followed his father down the dull, clean halls._

 _Gaster wore a white fur scarf, with a tight fitting lab coat. His shoulders were wide and his posture excellent. One of his eyes- his right- was sunken down and his left had the claw scars of some animal engraved into the bone below it._

" _It has come to my attention that your soul is very special. I believe it may be a very rare phenomenon, and I would like to test this hypothesis." Gaster said._

 _Sans didn't say anything. He never felt like talking._

 _Gaster took him to a wide open room, with what looked like little satellites on the upper corners. One wall contained a window, the other a wide, sliding door._

 _Sans heard snarls, barks, growls and the tap of claws on tile. He shuddered._

" _Stay here. I want you to hold still. I will be exposing you to Moon magic. It will get very cold. But if my hypothesis is correct you should have a strong reaction."_

 _Gaster left and went over to the window on the outside._

 _Sans glanced around the room frantically._

 _Was this going to hurt?_

 _Gaster pressed a button._

 _The room was bathed in a light blue light. Sans just stood there at first. He felt nothing._

 _Then he felt cold._

 _His body started to shake and shudder. Unconsciously, he felt a growl rip through his chest._

 _Sans grabbed a hold of his sweatshirt in fear._

 _What's happening?_

 _He tightly shut his eyes, bared his teeth. They felt… sharper now. He didn't like this._

 _Gaster started to talk through the radio in the room._

" _I see, very good. Now. I will open the door. There are dogs- normal dogs- on the other side. They will attack you."_

" _W-what?! What a-am I supposed t-to do?!" Sans whined._

" _Do what you feel like doing."_

 _Sans opened his eyes and ran to the now locked door and pounded on it._

" _W-WAIT! LET ME OUT!"_

 _Sans didn't notice, but Gaster looked away._

 _The door slid open._

 _Sans's head whipped towards the dogs._

 _There were so many…_

 _They were of all different large breeds, but they all looked ferocious. They caught sight of him and slowly advanced forward, their sharp yellow teeth bared and saliva dripping from their mouths._

 _Sans whined and backed up to the opposite wall. He pressed against it, staring at the pack of dogs._

 _He was shaking so hard. He couldn't think straight, his bones wouldn't hold still, sweat dropped down his skull. His eyes were wide, and the lights in them glowing a pale yellow._

 _A color of serious alarm for him._

 _The dogs moved closer. He could see their bodies quivering with anticipation._

 _Sans couldn't breathe._

 _Suddenly, he found himself growling back. The blue light in the room was getting stronger._

 _He snarled._

 _He wanted to run._

 _Without warning one of the dogs- a Indecipherable mix with brown fur and torn ears- leaped forward._

 _Sans couldn't move fast enough, and it sank its teeth into one of his ribs._

 _Sans couldn't scream. He couldn't make a sound._

 _He saw his own blood._

 _Something snapped._

 _The next moments passed by in a blur. All he remembered was snarling, snapping, yelping, and the taste of blood._

 _Then he was standing over a sea of dogs. None of them moved. The only movement was the flow of blood._

 _He looked down. His clothes were torn and stained red._

 _Sans blinked and realized what just happened._

" _O-oh my god… what did I do?"_

…

Sans shot up, panting.

Great. Nightmare.

It happened often. He was afraid of something like this happening after he killed Uno. It was inadvertent, really.

Sans forced himself to calm down and looked over at the clock. 2:34 AM.

Not too long.

He sighed and wiped sweat from his skull. His body was still quivering and shuddering. He could still feel the cold fingers of magic creeping through his bones, holding tight.

He noticed a warmth to his right. He looked down, arms pulling up instinctively.

 _Frisk._

She must've rolled over. Now she was right up against him, still sound asleep. Her good ear and her tail were twitching softly in her sleep.

"Shit. Hey, Frisky." Sans tried to wake her up with a light shake.

Nope.

A poke.

Nope.

"Frisk?"

Nope.

Maybe he had to be a little rougher?

No.

He didn't want to wake her up… she was actually kind of cute with her twitching (she did it all the time) but she was invading his _personal space._

Well, they had both been doing a lot of that recently, hadn't they.

Sans looked away, feeling his cheekbones burn.

Was he really… growing _that_ soft for a human?

He could NOT believe he was LOVING it.

She was a human. Not to mention he was far to lazy for that kind of shit. Relationships were confusing, and a lot of work. He could just imagine it now, Frisk sitting on top of a throne as he scrambled to provide her every whim so as to not get his head bitten off. That's how relationships worked, right?

Okay, maybe not.

Sans sighed and gave her a playful pat.

"Like I said, you are one damn handful. Did you fall down here just to torture me, huh?"

Sans mused it over before laying back down again. He moved very slightly to the side, not too much as to disturb Frisk.

He could just fall asleep and wake up before anyone else and move. That would work.

Sans closed his eyes.

 _Yeah…_

Something collided with him.

What now?

Frisk had moved over _again._

Now she was right up against his rib cage.

Sans face-palmed.

"Frisk, why?"

He couldn't move her now.

Shit.

Whatever.

Sans just closed his eyes again.

He never thought he would enjoy the closeness of someone else.

* * *

 **AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW THE SHIPPIES XD**

 **It's official. Sansy likes Frisky. He won't admit it. Cause he's a stubborn butt**

 **Comycat~**


	25. Chapter 24- Off the rails

Frisk woke up with Storm cuddled right against her chest. She felt a surge of delight at the feeling of his incredibly fluffy fur.

She was also aware of another... Larger feeling.

She was cuddled right up to Sans like Storm was to her. She could feel the steady rise and fall of his rib cage, and hear his snoring right in her ear.

Frisk stiffened and shot up, distancing herself. Her cheeks burned.

 _What the hell? Did I roll over in my sleep? I hope he didn't notice…_

Storm mewed in protest.

Frisk looked down at the tiny kitten, scratching her own ear.

"Hehe… let's keep this between us, little guy."

Storm yawned and padded over to her, resting his fuzzy body on her leg. She could feel purrs trembling through the puff bean.

Frisk was filled with an incredible warmth that made her smile wide. THe power of fluffy kittens was too powerful.

She picked him up and squealed at how light and fluffy he was. She giggled as he put both his little paws on her face, soft pads feeling so amazing and adorable.

She played with Storm for some time before Sans finally woke up.

He seemed flustered by something, and a little frustrated. She was going to ask what, but he caught sight of Storm.

"Oh, that little rat. Why are you letting it touch you?" He snarled.

The kitten stared blankly at Sans with wide blue eyes, unaware of the venom in his voice.

Frisk narrowed her eyes.

"Leave my baby alone."

Sans rolled his eyes.

"You've gotta be Satan to give birth to demon spawn like that."

Storm took a step towards Sans.

Sans jumped and shuffled away.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME, YOU UGLY DISGUSTING FUR LUMP SPAWNED FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL!"

"SANS!" Frisk grabbed Storm and held him close.

"Do not speak to my cat like that!" Frisk growled.

"Oh dear god. I hate my life." Sans groaned.

"Don't we all." Frisk stood up with Storm still in her arms.

"Wanna go drink an unnecessary amount of energy drinks?"

"Sure."

…

For the next few days Frisk stayed at the lab. Sans stayed with her for the most part, though he left a few times each day to check on Papyrus. Papyrus hung out with Undyne and Rocky for longer, Sans said. He didn't like his cinnamon bun around Undyne. He was fine with Papyrus hanging with Rocky as long as he kept the dog away from him (or Frisk? She didn't know).

Frisk was really enjoying her new friend in Alphys. They both had the same nerdy tendency (though she didn't fangirl like Alphys, she was a book geek) and interest in movies and cats. They would talk about cats and cats and cats, and anime. Then they would start talking about anime crushes.

Frisk never really felt any... Kind of attraction to others. But it was fun to think of who would make the best boyfriend. When noticed now that she felt more comfortable with this, and that maybe she _was_ developing sexual feelings. She shook it off as something weird from the Moon Magic. Alphys showed her many desirable men.

Sans liked these conversations as much as he liked cats.

Frisk also found a small, cat sized bandana for Storm. She tied it around his neck. It was a little big now, but he would grow. Storm seemed to like it and paraded around with it on, fluffy chest puffed out in pride.

They also played video games. Sans went back to his house and got his old DS out, and Alphys had made her own that she let Frisk have. The three of them played Pokemon together, like old friends. Frisk was determined to beat Sans, but he used a team of full legendaries like the turd he was. Alphys didn't care for battling and liked getting the "kawaii" Pokemon.

Eventually, Frisk was mostly healed and the topic of moving through Blizzardland was brought up. Sans said that he wanted to go with her. Blizzardland was absolutely brutal. The only shelter was among the frozen rocks and the large domes of the fields. The elevators freezed often. But past that was MTT resort, a wonderful hotel that Sans used to preform stand up comedy at.

That reminded Frisk of Sans's job. When asked, he said he had called in for an emergency vacation, and they let him after hearing about the fight in Snowdin. He seemed unsure if it was because of fear or not.

"Why would they be scared of you? No one else seems to be…" Frisk stared at him, standing in the middle of the bottom floor. Storm hung out on her shoulder, his favorite place to be.

"You don't pay attention. The younger monsters, they are fine. But the older ones, the ones who know... They don't like me. 'cuz I'm a vicious animal." Sans's eyes flickered.

She noticed his right eye had been going out more often lately. It was a little concerning. Was he still low on magic?

Frisk sighed.

"Well, they are wrong. You are not an animal."

Sans opened his mouth to argue, but a loud metallic _bang_ cut him off. The floor shook. Sans winced and covered his ear-holes. Frisk's ears flattened against her head and her tail bushed. Storm mewed softly and cowered against her neck.

"What was that?!" Frisk shrieked.

Alphys ran towards them, looking panicked.

There was another bang, then another. They repeated a couple of times, growing quicker in succession. Sans moved beside her, growling softly. His left eye was flashing between cobalt and a light purple. She recognized the cobalt as his general alert, aggressive or just strong emotional color and purple as a fear or cautious color.

Then, the banging ceased. Everyone was dead still.

Then, chucks of cement flew from the walls, smashing into the floor at their feet. Lights began to flash.

A large, square robot had smashed through the wall. He had a flashing screen of many yellow and red tiles, knobs and buttons below it. He had two long arms and gloves hands and stood on a single wheel. Two leopard ears poked from his head and he had a long, leopard tail that swayed back and forth.

Frisk heard Sans emit a bark-like sound. Sans rarely made wolf sounds, but he was clearly startled.

Frisk jumped, and she felt Storm sink his claws into her shoulder in fear.

"Welcome my precious kitties! Today we have our contestants in our wonderful QUIZ SHOW! How exciting!" The robot clapped his hands, confetti falling from seemingly no where.

"Who the-" As Sans cursed, a loud beep played."- are YOU!?" Sans blinked, realizing he had been censored.

The robot waggled his finger.

"Tsk tsk! No cursing on live tv! Say hello to your gorgeous host, Mettaton! Today we have our two contestants, Sans the skeleton and Frisk the Human! Let's give a round of applause for our guests!" Mettaton clapped again.

Frisk took a step back, eyes going wide.

"Wh-what? I never-"

Sans turned to Alphys.

"Do you know what this is?!" Sans was furious.

"N-no…" Alphys stammered.

"This challenge is quite simple! Answer correctly, or… DIE!"

The lights turned off, and new lights came back on. Colorful dots danced across the walls. There was suddenly square boxes projected on the floor. Each one held a letter.

"Step on the correct answer to proceed!" Mettaton informed in his odd robot voice.

"No." Sans snarled. Frisk put her hand up to Storm to reassure him, nervousness crawling in her gut.

"Question number one! What is the prize for answering the questions correctly!"

The different answers appeared on the squares.

"We're not doing your stupid quiz!" Sans stepped forward aggressively.

His foot touched the nearest square.

It turned red and a buzzer played.

"WRONG!" Mettaton snapped.

Suddenly, Sans was shocked by a flash of electricity. He cried out and fell to his knees.

"SANS!" Frisk put Storm down and ran over. Sans had gotten back up, shaking and growling.

 _He's absolutely pissed…_

Frisk took a step back. His fangs were bared and his eyes just tiny white specks. she felt a nervousness kick her in the chest.

He wouldn't lash out her, right?

Frisk shook her head.

He wouldn't. He was so desperately scared he could hurt her. So he would never.

"Maybe… we should do it. Just to get it over with…" Frisk suggested softly. She flinched when he turned to her.

When he saw this his expression softened with guilt.

"Sorry… yeah, you may be right. Be careful, though. I don't know how well a human fares to being electrocuted…" Purple flashed in his eye.

"Just as well as you do, probably."

"Does our second contestant wish to chose an answer?" Mettaton asked.

Frisk looked over the choices.

Sans had stepped on C, "Mercy."

Not that one.

Frisk gulped.

A said points. B said Medals. D said More questions.

Frisk nervously tapped D and jumped back, scared of being zapped.

It turned green and a chime played.

"COrrrrrect! Next!"

The answers changed.

"What is the former king's full name!"

Different variations of Asgore's name appeared.

Frisk knew his first name, but his last…

What was it again?

In her hesitation, Sans had picked B. It read "Asgore Dreemur."

It was correct.

"ALRIGHT! Let's up the difficulty, folks! What animal is this?"

A cat head was projected onto the wall.

Frisk was about to chose C, Cat, when Sans tapped her shoulder.

"Psst. Look at Al."

Frisk glanced over at the lizard.

She was making a sign with her fingers, an "A".

"What? It's a cat? Why is she…"

"I say just pick A. Besides… I have some… suspicions…" Sans's eyes went dark, and Alphys started sweating.

Frisk sighed, wiping her brow.

"Leave it to you to notice the most obscure details."

Frisk picked A, Mettaton.

"Wow! You can't be stumped!"

The picture zoomed out, revealing… a cat head on Mettaton's chest.

"OH, WHAT A CHEAT!" Frisk flipped him off.

Sans pulled her back.

"Do you want to get electrocuted!" Sans whispered angrily. Now HE was the one soothing her rage.

"You can't tell me that was Bullshit!" Frisk replied just as angrily, pointing at the robot and looking at Sans.

Sans shrugged.

"Whatever. Just focus on the next question."

The next questions were really odd, obscure and impossible questions, such as count hundreds of flies in a jar. However, Alphys gave them the correct answer each time.

"Okay folks, time for the big one! Can our contestants answer this whooper?!"

A dramatic drumroll played.

"In the dating simulation game, Mew Mew Kissy Cutie: Pearl Quest, what is Mew Mew's favorite food?"

Alphys jumped up, waving her hand, as Sans furrowed his brow-bone and mouthed "wtf".

Alphys looked excited.

"OH, OH I KNOW THIS! In the game, in level 3 part 2, if you go down to the beach section of the map and buy an ice cream from the dark blue vendor, then bring the item to Ula on the beach, Mew Mew will start a story saying how…"

Alphys rambled on and on for about three minutes before realizing everything was quiet and still. Everyone stared at her, including the cats.

She started sweating.

"O-oh… whoops?"

"Alphys, Alphys! You should have told me! I would have given them much juicer questions you could have engaged in! Here, how about this one? You'll like this."

The question changed.

"Who does Frisk, our contestant, have a crush on? Oh, the irony!" Mettaton cooed.

The answers were "Papyrus, Undyne, Rocky and Sans."

Frisk inhaled sharply.

"NO! I never… THERE ISN'T EVEN A CORRECT ANSWER HERE! THIS ISN'T FAIR! I've always been... Asexual? I don't know!" Frisk yelled.

"Who the *bleep* thought it was a good idea to put me here?" Sans asked. He was shuffling, bothered b g. Hm.

"Meow!" Storm mewed.

"Y-yeah, Mettaton… that's mean…" Alphys said quietly.

"Oh? Shall I change it?"

"YES!" Everyone stated at once.

"Okay! But only once!"

The question changed.

However, only one word changed.

"Who does Sans, our contestant, have a crush on?"

The answers changed to "Grillby, Undyne, Grocery store lady and … Frisk."

She heard Sans inhale sharply.

"Oh thanks a lot! You should've just answered the last one!"

Frisk turned to him.

"Really? You just agreed to change two seconds ago!"

"Because I didn't want to be involved!"

"You're a god damn hypocrite! We're both in this you know!"

"I didn't ask for it!"

"Neither did I!"

"I got electrocuted! You didn't! So it should have been you!"

"You got electrocuted because you were being stupid!"

"I was not! I was angry because-"

They both started talking over each other heatedly, going into a full blown argument.

"Oh my, it looks like our contestants are arguing. How dramatic!" Mettaton cooed over the two of them.

A colored dot rolled past Storm. The kitten slunk into a crouch and leaped after it, chasing It across the floor.

Frisk and Sans didn't notice in their battle.

Storm lingered dangerously close to the answer boxes.

"How cute! Will our little kitten chose for us?!" A "awww"ing sound effect played.

Storm took his choice and pounced on letter D.

Frisk heard the sound of it being pressed and looked over.

Her eyes widened.

Sans looked over her shoulder. His eye lights flickered.

"… really cat?!"

"The kitten has chosen answer D, Frisk! The human! It is painfully obvious to me! The closeness! The arguing! They are like a married couple already!"

Frisk felt her cheeks catch fire.

"Storm! I trusted you!"

Sans was standing with his mouth agape.

His cheekbones were blue.

"Why… why me. Why. I am going to have an existential crisis and a complete meltdown right now…"

"Well, with the clever doctor Alphys helping you I'm afraid I will have to cut it short. BUT. Don't believe this is the last! Next time! More drama! More bloodshed! More romance! See you next episode!"

Mettaton activated jet propellers and flew out the door. Just as abruptly as he came.

Just… flew out the door.

The room was filled with silence for awhile.

"H…he wasn't supposed… to ask… that one…" Alphys was looking back and forth nervously.

Frisk scooped up Storm in case Sans decided he wanted revenge.

"… that just has to be your cat. Of all of these damn vermin, that one _has_ to be yours." Sans muttered.

"Oh stop it, he didn't mean any harm." Frisk rubbed under Storms chin. He purred.

Sans gestured to the kitten, outraged.

"SO YOU YELL AT ME, BUT NOT THE LITTLE HAIRBALL!"

"Maybe because he behaves better than you." Frisk countered, calmly.

"IT DOES NOT!"

"Maybe you… guys should leave soon. He may… come back…" Alphys said.

"Oh…" Frisk looked over at the lizard.

"Well, if Frisk's ready, we can go through Blizzardland and get to the shortcut past that point. I have a shortcut right in front of MTT hotel. That way we can zap back home."

"Why can't you get there from another shortcut?" Frisk asked.

"It hasn't been used in over two months. It needs to be activated again. I could zap you straight to the castle if I used those paths frequently. But I haven't been up there in forever. Actually, I don't even remember where the shortcuts are in the capital anymore. They may not even exist at this point." Sans rubbed the back of his skull.

"Okay… so we need to go through Blizzardland to get to the shortcut?" Frisk asked.

"Yeah. Unfortunately, Blizzardland is nasty. Always snowing, as the name suggests. And we can't be out past dark."

"W-well, they made the n-n-new train, a-and It is t-taking its first passengers…" Alphys stammered.

Frisk looked over.

"Train? In snow."

"The tracks are made specially to repel ice and snow with magic."

"I don't want to use the train." Sans's voice was tense.

Frisk looked over at him.

"Why? I have never been on a train before. I want to go and see what It's like."

"I don't trust it. Nothing can outdue the magic of the stone." Sans growled, tense.

"I-I-its been out on many test r-runs… I'm s-sure they wouldn't take passengers if it w-wasn't safe…"

"More like people are desperate." Sans replied.

"Sans…" Frisk grabbed his arm.

"Please? You need to calm down a little. You're starting to sound like me, worrying about everything. It will be fun! I'm sure you'll like it too."

"Trains are loud."

"Saaannnnsss…"

Sans looked away.

"Fine! I'll deal with it. Only because I really want to have some fun at the hotel. And you're going with me when we get there. No getting out of it."

"Okay."

"And you are not allowed to bring the cat-"

"WHAT!? NO! YOU ARE NOT TAKING STORM FROM ME!" Frisk cuddled the kitten protectively against her chest.

"Let me finish. You can't bring the cat with you WHEN WE GET TO THE HOTEL!"

"Oh. Fair enough. Though mommy would miss her little baby." Frisk nuzzled Storm. Storm purred loudly.

"Did… you just… ugh. I hate that cat." Sans gave Storm the death glare.

The kitten didn't seem to care.

…

Frisk's injured ear hurt worse in the cold. It was mostly healed, but it was now more vulnerable to the cold. Frisk didn't hurt for the most part, however, but she did have a new shortness of breath. Alphys said she would experience this for awhile, maybe even for years.

The train station was surprisingly packed. Of course, nothing close to a human station, but this was the biggest crowd she had seen yet. All the monsters seemed excited to finally be able to travel with their children without worry.

She was extra nervous around the larger crowd, especially with her mangled ear. Not to mention all the scars underneath her clothes and on her neck. When she was here she could feel them burning under the fabric, self consciously.

Storm stayed on her shoulder. He seemed to like seeing all the new people, and was especially joyed when someone looked at him and cooed. He was growing to be a little attention hog, indeed.

Frisk worked on her sense of smell, trying to pick apart all the different scents.

Sans just grumbled under his breath the whole time. He wasn't even trying to look chipper anymore. As odd as it was, she liked this better. Before when he was always smiling she felt an uneasiness with him, but now he felt genuine.

The train ride was free. Frisk was surprised. Usually it was expensive to ride a train on the surface. But down here monsters were so generous they made any form of transportation free. She guessed it was because there was so little of a population compared to the human population. They reproduced slower and, according to Alphys, didn't need to worry about accidental children.

"M-monsters can c-c-control whether they w-want to conceive a c-child or n-not with magic. If they w-want too, they will, but if n-not… they won't. And both monsters need to be w-willing…"

Frisk wished humans could do that too. Then there would be a ton less kids up for adoption and such.

Monsters were lucky in a way. Many ways, really. But for what luck they had their troubles weighed twice as much

Frisk sat down after Sans in the train seat. The seats were made of soft, plush material, and it smelled like peppermint and chocolate. Soft music was playing somewhere, and monster children ran up and down the lanes excitedly. It had a much closer, warmer atmosphere than any public human place.

Sans had chosen a spot away from the commotion. There were a couple older looking monsters around them, also seeking the same thing. They chatted in quiet, dignified groups. Frisk almost felt out of place here, but she wasn't going to make a fuss.

The floors were a soft purple color, and the walls a pleasant tan. The seats were black with little designs of snow carved into the rims. It was homey and elegant at the same time. Frisk traced the little snowflakes with her fingers, marveling at the little details and edges she could feel. In the wood beside the seats were stylized carvings of wolves and moons. The air smelled of biscuits and snow.

Reminded her of the polar express. Did monsters know what that was?

Storm moved from her neck to her lap, his paws kneading her legs.

The kids ran over gasping as soon as they noticed the fluffy kitten. The older monsters muttered at the noise.

Storm was happy to have their attention. He stuck his little chin into the air in pride, like he was a super model

Frisk was uneasily shy, and Sans used the opportunity to make a bunch of puns about cats to punish her. Frisk

Eventually someone came on the crackling speakers, saying to sit down as the train was going to be moving and hot cocoa was going to be served.

"Free hot cocoa? Best train ever!"

"S'cool." Sans agreed. "Free food."

"Sans." She nudged him.

"Hey, free stuff is cool."

A tall, skinny red monster in a Christmas sweater came down with the hot cocoa and coffee. Frisk took a small cup of creame for Storm. She was astounded they let her have Storm on the train in the first place, and the monster was more than happy to give him his creame.

Sans finished his hot cocoa immediately. Literally, it only lasted in his hands for a minute.

"How do you not burn yourself?" Frisk asked, blowing on hers. It was still a little too hot. Steam curled from the opening on the lid.

"I dunno. You might burn faster than me. I AM a skeleton. Though that maybe was a little hot. I can feel it." Sans pointed to his chest.

"Huh? Where?"

"Wherever it goes. It goes to some sort of magic cavity. It's linked to me, and I can physically feel it if I'm hungry or something upsets it. Like a magic stomach. But I can't touch it or see it or anything. I don't even know where exactly it is, I just feel it in my chest and torso. It's pretty weird."

"Huh. The more you know." Frisk huffed. She wasn't going to try to understand anymore, especially when Sans didn't himself.

She took a sip of her hot cocoa.

THe rich chocolate filled her with yum.

They sat in comfortable silence, staring out the window into the snow.

The snow blew past, and it was all she could see. Everything was white. They passed a plain white field with little domes in the distance. Outside were flimsy looking windmills, spinning in the fierce wind.

They soon came to a cliff. THe train climbed it steadily but sturdily. The rocks were covered in thick white powder, and the train slowly made its way.

"Those kids are too loud." Sans grumbled, putting his feet up.

"Whatever. I don't like kids too much either, but I can deal with them. As long as they don't start crying. I hate it. I start freaking out because it makes me feel so bad, even if it's in a video or something. I remember watching a movie where a guy popped some little kids ballon, and he started bawling. And I cried. Like 'poor kid, oh my god, I want to help him'." Frisk said.

Sans stared at her for a few seconds. Like she grew another head

"… you are one strange, strange human. Or life form in general."

"What? I don't like crying kids. Is that so-"

Storm suddenly shot up and started yowling. He stomped his paws and waved his tail as it puffed up.

Frisk looked down, startled. She moved her arms so fast she accidentally whacked Sans in the face. She didn't know if it hurt her or Sans more.

"What? Oh, is something wrong, Storm?"

"Staddup cat." Sans growled.

Storm turned to her with wide eyes, begging her for something.

"Do you want more creame? I can find them cart guy…"

Sans sat up suddenly, hand gripping the wood. His large hand was gripping it so hard the wood splintered under his boney fingers.

"Something's wrong."

Frisk looked over, her eyes going wide.

"What? Is he sick? Is he hurt?"

Sans's eyes turned purple, and Frisk felt a rush of fear.

 _What's wrong with Storm?_

"It's not the cat…" Sans said slowly.

The train hit a bump.

"Frisk… move, now!" Sans shoved her, causing her to stumble.

Frisk grabbed Storm, her heart starting to race.

"Wh-what? Sans, what's going on?"

"Don't worry, just move!" The urgency in his voice caused some monsters to look their way.

The train hit another bump.

There was a loud groan from the machine. She felt the floor rumble.

Everyone went silent.

Frisk was filled with ice cold terror. It felt more like a slow motion nightmare than anything.

 _Oh no._

She felt the train sway beneath her feet.

"Sans!" Frisk cried out, feeling dizzy with fright.

The train tiled to the side…

Right off the cliff.

Screams started abruptly as the train fell over the side and smashed into the first set of rocks, sparks flying and the lights flashing. Frisk felt all gravity leave her as the train rolled, and she collided with multiple hard things. She couldn't hear herself scream, but she felt she was making the sound.

The train hit and rolled over and over, till it hit the final set of rocks and tumbled over the last of the cliff edge.

Frisk was shot out the window, crying out as the glass gave way to her body and the cold wind met her.

Then everything went black.

…

Frisk felt the cold snow pressing against her cheek.

The wind howled harshly.

She felt a set of tiny, warm paws prodding her head.

Storm was above her, meowing desperately.

Frisk groaned and sat up.

At first she didn't know where she was or what happened.

Then she was jouted back by the smell of smoke and charred metal.

Frisk shot up, wincing at the tiny shards of glass stuck in her skin.

 _The train!_

She could see it not too far away, on its side. Broken and dented. Smoke trailed out the openings and sparks still flew here and there.

She was aware of distant crying.

She was unable to move for a few moments, the horror overcoming her senses and leaving her lifeless.

Then she realized she didn't know where Sans was.

"S-Sans!" Her voice was rough, but she forced it to work.

"Sans!?" She called again, standing up on shaky legs. She felt like she was going to fall over like the train did. Storm stuck by her leg, eyes wide and little fuzzy body shaking.

Frisk started running towards the train wreck, coughing at the charring smell.

"Sans!"

As she neared, she noticed piles of gray dust under the train, and it blew with the wind. Stray items were strewn about. There was blood in the snow.

"Oh my god…" Frisk couldn't swallow.

 _How many people just died?_

"Sans!" Frisk was getting more desperate.

She tried looking inside the train, but there were flames preventing her entering.

She climbed over the train to look on the other side.

There were monsters scattered in the distance, around piles of dust or crying children. Frisk noticed with a drop of her heart some children were crying alone, and some parents were too.

 _Oh my god… no, no… this can't be happening… Sans, please don't be dead… I need you… you can't be dead!_

"Sans! Sans!"

Storm meowed at her side and started running away.

At first she payed it no heed in her distress, but she realized he was looking at her like he wanted her to follow.

She followed the kitten, her heart pounding against her chest.

Suddenly, she noticed a limp figure stuck halfway under the train.

Storm stopped by Sans's head, sniffing him.

"Sans!" Frisk covered the last of the distance at twice the speed and kneeled beside him, terrified.

His eyes were closed.

She tried nudging him, tears forming in her eyes.

"Sans! Sans… please get up… don't die, please don't die… no, no, no…no… get up!" She shook him, trying to get some sort of reaction.

Storm cried out beside her, hearing the pain and fear in Frisk's voice. Maybe he understood, maybe he didn't.

Suddenly, Sans let out a wheeze and his eyes opened slowly.

"Hu…huff… don't… sound… like that…"

"Sans?" She stopped shaking him.

He let out a small, wheezing cough. She noticed blood dribbling from his mouth.

"You… sound like… your … cat just… died…"

"No, _you almost died_! And you still might, if you don't get out from under there!"

Storm meowed.

Sans closed his eyes and smirked weakly.

"Look… I don't… think… you can move… a train… Snap pea."

"I've just gotta get you out!" Frisk tried to move it up a little with her shoulder. It didn't budge.

She winced at the feeling of the glass digging deeper into her skin.

"Are… you… okay?"

"You're asking me if I'm okay, meanwhile you're _dying_ under a train? What the hell?"

Sans chuckled.

"What… a way… to go, huh?"

Storm let out a distressed meow.

Frisk tried moving the train again. She realized he was right- she couldn't move it by herself. How could she move a couple tons of burning metal?!

Frisk stood up and started waving her arms, trying to get attention.

"Hey! Someone! Over here! We need help! Please!" Frisk yelled.

No one even looked her way.

Storm suddenly hissed, and she heard a broken growl from Sans

She felt a presence looming over her.

"Looks like we meet again."

The voice was familiar, but she couldn't put it to a face.

The air smelled like burnt biscuits.

Frisk went stiff.

Storm back away, hissing and spitting.

Sans, despite being under the train, took an aggressive tone.

"You… why… are you… here? Leave… her… alone…"

Frisk slowly turned around.

It was the hooded figure from Grillby's. A pair of ice blue eyes met hers from the shadows of the hood.

"Like you're in the position to make demands, Judge. But don't worry. Out here, I am not the person bound by duty as I am without the cloak." The voice was rough and gravelly.

Frisk took a step back.

"W-w-what do you want?" She felt an overwhelming sense of _power_ from this guy.

"Easy. I was riding the train in the cargo area. I probably would be v.i.p if they knew who I were, but that does not matter. I chose that spot. I like quiet. But don't bother trying to signal them off. They are all absorbed in their own grief. It's a terrible tragedy." The monster pulled his cigarette… bone shaped, biscuit? From his mouth and tapped it with a claw, letting the ashes fall into the snow.

Frisk noticed with a sickening twist of her gut that the ashes looked like monster dust, just a bit lighter.

Frisk looked up, her tears overflowing. Her body started shaking.

 _He's going to die, he's going to die and there isn't anything I can do._

"Easy. Listen, I can help. You want help?" The creature asked gruffly.

Frisk blinked.

"Y-y-you c-c-"

"Yes. Maybe not the whole thing but this little bit. It's why I got the job I do. Watch out."

Frisk swallowed hard and stepped aside.

Sans's dim eye light stayed on the cloaked figure, never shifting.

He put his paws under the metal, right where Sans was stuck and grunted. It lifted ever so slightly, just enough room for Sans to be freed.

Frisk rushed forward and pulled him out. Sans groaned and didn't move or twitch. He just let himself be dragged away.

He dropped it back in the snow with a huff.

"There."

"Took you long enough." Sans inhaled deeply, sitting up in a jolt. Frisk non-verbally scolded him when the action made him groan. To her relief, he didn't seem too badly hurt at all.

The cloaked monsters icy eyes locked on Sans.

"And quite bold to commit treason by escorting a human."

Frisk started trying to check Sans over more, but he pushed her away, eyes locked on the man in front of him.

"There's no laws saying I need to murder every human who wanders in here." Sans's eyes narrowed.

Frisk felt a chill go down her spine.

The figure chuckled.

"I never thought those words would come from your mouth. Out of all of us, you seemed to hate humans the most. But, alas, you are correct. And besides, out here, as I said, I am not bound by duty and law. I am just a normal civilian. With this cloak, I am just like you and every other monster here. Keep an eye on your human. I am not heartless. If you do not wish to see her killed, keep her far away from the barrier. There I am not under my cloak, and I have duty to preform."

He started walking away, cloak dragging in the snow. Smoke curled up behind him.

Frisk was filled with unexplained dread.

She felt she would see him later, no doubt.

Frisk shook her head and turned to Sans, who despite looking relatively neutral gave off an extremely agitated vibe. Upon closer look she could tell he was trembling, and she couldn't help but feel her gut drop.

She checked him over, pressing softly against his rib cage. Nothing seemed broken, but he said after some prying (unhappily) his lower half was pretty stiff and sore. He also admitted to probably some minor cracks in the bone. What was most dangerous, though, was his inability to breath while trapped. Like his magic stomach, he had magic lungs that had a physical connection to his chest. When he couldn't inhale and exhale, he experienced problems, just like a human.

After making sure he was okay Frisk shuffled away, looking down. She couldn't stop her shaking body.

 _I… that was horrible… that was so horrible… there's so many dead people… so many…_

Frisk closed her eyes.

"I… I'm sorry…"

"Huh? What for, Puppo?" Sans fixed his coat. Some of the fur on the hood had been burned and he gave the brown hairs a quick sniff before turning away with a huff.

She felt Storm against her leg. She pushed the kitten away.

"I… I'm the one who made you go in this stupid train… I almost killed you…"

"How'd you know it would fall over?"

"You said, y-you didn't tr-"

"Okay. Then that put the responsibility on me. But it was just a feeling. And you were right, I did need to relax. This had nothing to do with you." Sans sounded surprisingly reasonable for once.

Frisk could still hear the crying and the wails. The pain of all of those people who lost others they loved, siblings who lost each other, parents who lost their children, children who lost their parents.

Frisk felt a gross sob tear through her body.

Sans's voice was soft and light with concern. "Frisk… c'mon, don't do this. We're all alright, come on…"

Frisk buried her head in her hands as the flood came, her breathing stuttering.

"But… but no one else is… no one else is… I can't stand hearing all the crying… why did I, out of all people, have to be the only one that comes out okay! I should be the last… the last person to make it… I've got the stupid power… oh god, I don't want to hear it anymore!" Frisk curled in deeper on herself, her breathing picking up. The panic was overtaking her again.

Storm mewled pitifully while Sans moved in, wrapping his arms around her and trying to calm her down. It didn't help when she felt him trembling still. Whether the gesture was more for her or him she would never know.

He ran his hand from her head down to the middle of her back in long strokes. Gingerly, like he was afraid.

"Come on, don't do this… it has nothing to do with you, or the Saves, or any of that. No one is picked to live or die in these things. And you know you can die and stay dead just like everyone else here. All you can do is just be happy we're all okay. I know it's hard, but that's how things are. Stuff happens."

Frisk leaned into him, unable to stop. Her head was fogged and her words almost inarticulate due to her crying.

"I don't want to hear it anymore… so many people are hurt beyond repair and I can't do anything, I just want it to stop!"

Storm worked his way between her and Sans, crying. He sounded scared.

"I know… but you can't fix and save everyone. Just block it out. We'll move soon, okay? But you need to calm down. Just breathe… slowly."

It took awhile, but eventually Frisk started to breathe slower and think clearer.

She pressed her face against his coat.

 _I'm never going to be able to sleep again._


	26. Chapter 25- Can't let go

**It snowed! Yay! I'm so happy to see the snow! Now for mOre snOw bitches!**

* * *

The snow was falling faster and faster. Everything was a thick sheet of white, and Frisk was having trouble walking through the thick snow. Her feet dragged from weariness.

Sans had pushed her onward after she had calmed down a decent bit. She had tried to stay to see if they could help with anything, but he said there was nothing they could do but move on and try to get to the next shortcut.

Storm was tucked tightly against her neck, shivering. Despite his thick, fluffy fur, the tiny kitten was beginning to get cold. Frisk shared his predicament.

She wondered silently if Sans was having the same issue. She could definitely feel the temperature difference out here, and without her coat she was in trouble.

Blizzardland was pretty bland. Just snow, snow, and more snow. Frisk didn't know if she wanted to see much else. After all that, she wasn't up to anything.

She felt like something was wrong. Sans's lights were small and dim, and he didn't even look at her. Maybe he was spooked from earlier? She had trouble remembering what the cloaked figure had said, due to panic. He had saved Sans though, so why was he so bothered?

Eventually, after endless walking, Sans froze.

"…Sans?" Her throat was still sore.

He swallowed and grabbed his right arm. A common nervous gesture of his, she had learned.

"…Frisk… after this… we'll just have to go past the core and you'll be…" Sans was trailing off. He was staring straight ahead.

"I'll be where? What's wrong, Sans?" Frisk's voice was a whimper.

"You… you'll be able to go back…" Sans's voice was shaking.

"Back?" At first Frisk didn't understand, but after a second or two realization hit her hard.

She would be able to go back to the surface.

"Th-that soon?" Frisk didn't know what to think. This entire time she had been trying to get out, but… why?

She felt the tug in her chest. Her soul was leading her to the surface, to the moon and the sky.

 _I wonder… does Sans have the same feeling too?_

Sans shook his head slowly, as realization hit him too. His eyes were wide and dark, darker than the land they walked in.

"You'll go…or he'll get you…you'll be gone.."

Frisk swallowed. Storm seemed to know something was awry and mewed softly.

"Sans, hold up..."

Sans backed up. He was suddenly looking like a frightened animal… maybe that wasn't so far from the truth.

"No… no!" His voice was halfway between a growl and a whine. He was shaking his head more furiously.

"Sans, wait. I won't-"

"No! I can't bring you there!" He backed away more, and Frisk tried taking a step towards him. But her foot sunk too far into the rough snow and she yelped as she fell over. Storm cried out and dug his claws into her shoulder.

She heard running footsteps through the snow.

Frisk shot up as fast as she could, wincing at the burning of the cold and the sting of her still raw injuries. Sans was running away into the snowstorm, his figure quickly disappearing.

"Sans! Wait!" Frisk reached out. Storm shook snow from his fur.

She realized it was starting to get darker. It was going to be night soon.

Frisk felt her eye twitch with anger. _He just abandoned me!_

At the same time she was worried. Whatever had driven him to flee like that… he probably didn't think about the fact he was leaving her alone in the snow storm.

Frisk stood up with a grunt. Storm's paws clutched her shoulder tightly.

 _You're a goddamn jerk for leaving me here, but I need to find you anyways. I don't want to be alone…_

Frisk started running in the direction Sans had went despite her weariness.

She felt horribly vulnerable without him. She couldn't see much of anything but snow. The wind was picking up, throwing both the falling and already existing snow around. This made it much harder to follow his tracks. Frisk wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.

Storm was hiding under her hair, trying to stay as warm as possible.

"Sans! Sans, can you hear me?" She called.

 _Why do I have to call for you twice in one day?!_

Frisk felt a new bout of worry as she remembered he was also hurt in the train wreck. Not too badly- and he wasn't showing much sign of injury before- but he was still hurt.

As the sky got darker and darker, Frisk got more desperate. Her stomach wormed with anxiety and the blood roared in her ears.

Her voice was getting raw. Her ears also ached from the wind. They weren't as sharp as Sans's (ear holes, anyways) but they were sensitive. Even the soft fur couldn't protect the tender insides. Plus, one of them was already injured.

Storm was pawing at her scarf, probably trying to get in.

Frisk stopped, huffing. Her breath pooled out in front of her.

Where was she even going?

Frisk felt tears sting her eyes.

Was she going to freeze to death out here?

Suddenly, there was a howl. It was quiet at first, but rose in volume steadily. Her ears instinctively pricked, and she recognized it immediately. Storm cowered against her st the sound and shivered.

It cut off after reaching its top volume. Frisk started running, the howl still echoing through the air.

 _It's Sans! He must've realized… or he must have gotten lost himself._

Frisk kept running, getting a little uncertain after having lost the sound. Soon, a small rocky ledge came in view, and the rocks created an overhang decently sheltered from the storm.

She noticed a figure huddled against the rock.

"Sans!"

He looked up, jumping slightly. His eyes widened at the sight of her.

"F-Frisk?"

She closed the rest of the distance and stopped in front of him, panting.

"Why did you run off, you asshole! I almost… thought I was going… don't do they again…" Frisk shuddered with fear.

Sans looked down, pulling his legs closer to his body.

"I know… I'm sorry. I just got… really panicked. I didn't think."

Frisk huffed and sat down beside him, frowning as her butt touched the snow. Sans had made a little hallowed spot to sit in.

"I figured. You don't seem to think when it counts. Anyways, what was that about?"

Sans looked away.

"…"

Frisk blinked. Storm jumped from her shoulder onto her lap.

"Sans? You said something about me leaving… I haven't really thought about that… I don't think I'm ready, so soon…" She looked down at Storm. He was pawing her stomach, eyeing it. It must have growled. She hadn't eaten anything since leaving Alphys's.

Sans stayed quiet.

Frisk felt like helpless trash.

 _He must not want me to go… he must… he really does care, doesn't he?_

Frisk swallowed, feeling tears swell again.

"Sans… I won't leave just yet. I won't go on for a little while once we get to MTT, if it makes you feel better. I don't have to be in a rush. It's not like anyone's waiting for me…"

Sans slowly glanced over at her. He didn't look appeased.

"Frisk, It's not just that. I-" Sans stopped.

Storm looked up, and his fur prickled.

Frisk strained her ears. She grabbed Storm protectively.

There was loud, savage barking. It sounded almost like coyotes, but deeper.

"Shit!" Sans shot up. He grabbed her arm and tugged.

She got to her feet as fast as she could, but the second she did Sans started pulling her away.

"Sans, what-"

"There's a wild pack of dogs out here. And trust me, you don't want to meet them. They're starving and extremely vicious. They're so desperate they will attack anything! Hurry up!"

Frisk started moving her legs faster, trying to keep up with Sans. He was better at moving in the snow than her. The barking and snarling was louder now, and she could hear countless paws crunching in the snow.

Frisk felt a stab of fear.

"We can't outrun a pack of dogs out here!"

Sans tugged her along harder.

"If we keep moving they may not attack. They don't like attacking running targets!" Sans shouted above the sound of the wind and dogs. It was completely dark now, not that she could see much past the snow.

She held Storm closer.

 _What are we going to do?_

Sans came to a sudden stop, and she ran into him.

"What are you doing?!"

"Clever bastards…" Sans was staring straight ahead.

She followed his gaze.

Large figures were sulking towards them, bony shoulders visible in their silhouettes. Frisk swallowed, trembling.

 _They must have come from two other directions._

Frisk looked around frantically.

They were coming in from all sides. There were dogs of all different shapes and colors, most long furred. They were all covered in scars. She could see their ribs and bones poking through skin and fur, and cruel teeth were curled in snarls as they approached.

Frisk put her back against Sans's, her heart pounding.

They were surrounded.

She held Storm closer. The kitten pressed his head against her chest, and she could feel his heartbeat against her own.

Sans's body rumbled with a snarl.

These weren't the monster dogs. They were true wild dogs, driven mad by hunger and isolation.

Frisk's tail tucked between her legs.

"Sans…"

"We're gonna have to fight. They aren't going to get off of us…" she couldn't see his face, but she caught a glimpse of blue flame from her peripheral vision.

The dogs looked closer.

Then they froze, fur rippling in the wind.

She felt Sans press closer to her.

"Stay close. They're probably going to try to separate-"

There was a rough bark and the dogs sprang forward like catapults.

Frisk yelped and jumped back, one arm wrapped around Storm.

 _What am I going to do? I can't fight them and protect Storm!_

A large brown dog came barreling towards her first, and leaped into the air, jaws wide open.

Frisk ducked under it, only to be attacked by another dog. She swiped at it with her free hand, scratching its nose with her claw-nails.

Pain flared up in her leg as a pair of jaws clamped down on them.

Frisk screeched and turned, trying to get the dog on her leg. Another dog- a stocky black one- leaped from the side and onto her back, throwing her to the ground.

Storm squirmed from her weakened grasp and fled, but she didn't have time to notice. Frisk kicked and twisted around, grabbing the dogs leg with her teeth. She bit down as hard as she could, her fangs cutting through the flesh and meeting bone. Blood gushed from the wound, the metallic taste meeting her tongue.

The dog yelped and jumped off her. She sprung up and snapped at it, making it stumble away further.

She could feel hot blood dribbling down her chin.

 _If I'm fighting dogs, I may as well fight like one._

Frisk leaped at the black dog, swiping at its eyes. She hit home, and the dog screeched before running off, leaving a trail of blood.

Frisk jumped to the side as more dogs came forward, and she slammed her shoulder into the nearest. She was turning back and forth, slashing and snapping to keep them away. She still wasn't doing very well, and she could tell the dogs were waiting for her to tire before going in for real strikes.

Without warning there was a loud roar, followed by a chorus of yelps.

Frisk looked over.

Sans had summoned one of his skull monsters. It shot blue from its mouth, which had unhinged. Blue fire curled around Its fangs and jaw.

Frisk could see many dogs lying lifeless on the ground, bones sticking out of them. The snow was stained red, appearing black in the dark.

Frisk didn't have time to evaluate more as one of the dogs came forward and bit her arm.

Frisk yelped and kneed it, then tackled it over. It's claws scratched her shoulder, but she didn't pay notice as she grabbed its ear with her fangs and _pulled._

The dog let out an unholy howl as it's ear was torn apart.

The sound scared the other dogs around her and they fled, along with the injured dog.

Frisk stood up.

Sans had many more of the dogs than she did.

She ran over to help him, but realized it wasn't really needed.

He had two of the skulls now. They shot at dogs while he wrestled with another, burying his teeth into its throat and killing it.

Most of the dogs were fleeing now, their numbers severely dwindled. The rest were taken down by his bones or incinerated by the blaster skulls.

Frisk noticed with a pang of concern Sans had a few scratches and bites. She was sure the blood on him mostly wasn't his, though.

there was no doubt he fought to kill.

It scared her a little, how deadly he could be. It was in a way different from any other monsters. Even deadlier than Uno.

Frisk swallowed.

As the last of the dogs ran with it's tail between its legs, Frisk padded over to Sans, panting.

He was panting to. His shoulders drooped and he was almost hunched over, legs locked shoulder width apart.

"Sans, are you okay?" Frisk asked, stopping beside him.

He straightened.

"Yeah." His eyes scanned her. "You held well. You're learning."

"I just _didn't_ feel like dying today." Frisk huffed. He was right. She only had a couple injuries after being attacked by a pack of dogs and being in a train crash. And nothing was serious. For once.

Sans's eyes stopped at her chest, and she felt like she was missing something important.

His voice was tense and slow. "Where's the cat?"

It took Frisk a few moments to absorb the question, her eyes slowly widening.

Her ears flattened as a rush of panic over took her.

She started trembling.

"Oh no… no no no… Storm… Storm ran away near the beginning! Oh no no-"

Frisk turned around and started running back to where she was fighting, horrible fear and pain hitting her heart.

 _He couldn't have escaped the dogs, he couldn't-_

Frisk looked around the area frantically. Her head was running at a million miles an hour, and she didn't realize she had started crying.

"Storm?! Storm?! Please don't be dead… please don't be dead…"

Sans had run up beside her. She couldn't process his hand on her shoulder in her panic.

"Frisk. Maybe it's better if we go back to the rocks from before?"

Frisk pulled away.

"No! I need to find Storm!"

"Frisk…"

Frisk covered her eyes with her arm. She knew why he wanted her to go back.

 _If I find him most likely he'll be torn up and dead…. No…_

Frisk sunk into the snow, hysterically crying, heavy sobs shaking her chest.

 _Why me?! Why… Storm… Why?! I want him back…_

Sans was trying to gently usher her back towards the rocks. The wind had picked up but she didn't care. The feeling of her heart being torn apart was all she knew.

Eventually Sans got her back, and she just curled up under the overhang and continued sobbing, her tail wrapping around herself tightly. Everything else fogged and her stomach lurched.

Sans crouched beside her, and she could feel his hand gently on her back.

"I'll be right back, okay? Stay here, alright?"

Frisk curled up tighter. She just wanted to be left alone.

 _I don't want to be here anymore…_

She couldn't hear Sans's footsteps. All she could hear was the pounding in her ears.

…

(Sans POV)

That. damn. cat.

How could someone be so upset over a little vermin?

Still, Sans could feel his soul being torn in two at the sound of Frisk's desperate crying. He couldn't stand it. He didn't know how he could be so hurt by just the sound…

Maybe that's what she had felt back at the train wreck. Back then it had just been distant crying, but now it was the pain of the person he held almost as dear as Papyrus.

"How come all this shits gotta happen in one day?" Sans grumbled, limping through the blizzard.

Sans didn't feel the greatest, though he knew he could feel much worse. Most of all he was just tired. His eyes felt heavy, and so did his feet.

He knew the cat was probably dead. The dogs would have caught it and torn it to shreds. WHat he was worried about was Frisk finding the cat mutilated beyond recognition.

He didn't know much of what he could do. He couldn't bring it back to life, or anything. But...

He just wanted her to stop crying.

After all, this was all _his_ fault.

 _She's never going to stay here with you now. You fucked it all up._

He had run away. Abandoned her. In the middle of probably the most dangerous place in the underground.

All because he was selfish and had a little bit of a mental breakdown.

He knew why she wanted to go. She felt the same tug he did. The desire to be under the moon. To feel the wind, to howl at the stars. He had never seen it himself, but he dreamed of it. But he had given up a long time ago.

He knew he would have to let go. But how could he let go if he still hadn't let go of anything else?

 _She was the only one who could fix you. And you fucked it all up. How's that feel, old pal? How's it feel to let down yet another person?_ He asked himself.

Sans closed his eyes, grinning ironically.

God, wasn't he pathetic?

He had hated humans. So bitterly. Now he sort of understood his father a bit more.

And maybe why his father was so bitter too.

 _He lost one, just like you are going to._

It was either she got through, or that damn king kill her. He had been mocking him before, really.

He remembered what felt like so long ago- though it was only long ago enough for him to still be a teenager- when they would hang out. The king was Sans's only friend back then, really. When the rest of the world hated him (it still kinda did.). Little had he known he was hanging out with the future king.

Funny.

The sound of barking shook Sans from his thoughts.

 _Are they really coming back for more? I'll kill the damn-_

As he got closer, he realized the dogs weren't after him.

There were two of them, digging and snarling at the ground. There was a tiny hole there, wormed between the cracks of snow covered rocks.

Sans felt a leap in his chest.

 _Are they after…_

Sans snarled and let himself bark at the dogs. He was more than capable of the sound with his wolf blood, and it sounded much more threatening from him.

The dogs didn't notice though, and kept pawing hungrily at the ground.

Sans shook his head and leaped without hesitation, burying his teeth into one of the dogs necks. He bit down and felt bone crack under his teeth, sending a shivering feeling down his own spine.

The dog went limp before it realized what was happening.

In a flash, the other was on the ground, bones sticking from it.

"Go to hell." Sans growled grudgingly at the corpses before turning to the hole.

He peered inside.

Little blue eyes stared back.

Sans didn't know if he should be happy or disappointed.

The kitten was here. He was crouched in the furthest corner of the crack, fur puffed up like if would protect him. Back arched and paws spread apart.

The kitten came bounding towards him as soon as it saw him. Sans groaned and shoved it away as it tried to leap on him.

"Ugh, stay away, you ugly fleabag."

Storm tilted his little head, eyes wide, before trying again, meowing and purring.

"Why the fu- err... why do you like me?!" Sans asked.

He had a feeling Frisk would yell at him if he cursed to her cat. She had done it before.

Sans glared at the feline.

"You stole my human. I hate you."

"Mew!" Storm rubbed his head against Sans's chest.

"She likes you better. You're cute. You're fluffy. I'm hairless and bony and messed up looking… heh." Sans snorted.

Storm stared up at him cluelessly.

"Just like Rocky. Rocky's cute. Rocky's nice. Rocky's not an asshole. She likes Rocky more than me. Everyone likes Rocky more than me. No one likes Sans, noooo." Sans started rambling.

Storm gave him an odd look. Almost like he was saying, " _why are you talking like that, I don't understand."_

Sans took the question to mind.

Why _was_ he jealous?

Sans flinched.

 _No. I'm not jealous. It's just a human. I can't be attracted to a damn human. No. That's so wrong and weird and no. No. Well, I guess that's how I was made… Gaster had the same predicament. Does that make it better? Eh, no. That guy was a fucking lunatic. Who the hell would agree to make children with him, anyways?!_

Sans shuddered.

He looked down at Storm.

"I'd better get the little hairball back. You really upset my human, you know. Don't do that."

Storm blinked.

It was almost like he said " _your human? My human!"_

Sans chuckled and shook his head.

Why was he imagining talking cats now?

"I'm losing it. Well, I have been losing it. Either way, my human. I met her first. Mine. Now, do I really have to touch you to get you back."

Storm presented his answer by curling up on his chest.

Sans started mumbling curses as he was forced to pick the kitten up and carry it back.

 _You are such a damn handful. You are the only person besides Paps who I would do this for. Be fuckin' grateful, Frisk. Be grateful._

…

(Frisk POV)

Frisk was shivering. Not just from the pain in her chest and the weak sobs, but from the cold as well.

The hysterical crying had died down to a few broken sobs. Her throat hurt and her eyes felt puffy. Her head hurt horribly.

She just wanted to disappear.

She stared at the wall of rock blankly, unfocused.

She didn't process footsteps crunching through the snow.

"Hey." Sans said, gently.

Frisk didn't acknowledge him.

Sans moved closer.

"Hey. Frisk." He shook her lightly.

 _Leave me alone._

Frisk covered her head with her arms.

"Come on. Don't give me the _cold_ shoulder _. Ice_ got a present for ya."

Something warm was deposited on her side.

She recognized those paws.

Frisk's eyes shot open, and she was completely still for a few seconds, unable to believe.

"St-storm?"

The kitten jumped off and was now in her face, pawing at her and meowing.

Frisk felt an unbearable rush of happiness.

"STORM!"

She scooped the kitten up, crying again.

She started sobbing again as well, but it was from a completely different reason. She started babbling inaudible lines of words, hugging the kitten close.

 _I though it was the last time I'd see you… oh my god I'm so happy…_

"You're welcome. I need to bleach myself after touching that thing."

Frisk turned to Sans, eyes wide.

"Sans… you found him… you really…"

Frisk flung herself at Sans, hugging him tightly. Storm protested at being thrown between them.

"Hey, hey, give me some warning! I couldn't really do much else. I could've eaten him, I guess, but… I was already fed up with your crying. I don't think you would want any Asian takeout."

Frisk huffed and pushed his head playfully.

"You're such an ass."

"Heh, true." Sans pulled away and rested his back against the wall. Frisk noticed he looked tired. Frisk sat back with him, keeping a tight grip on Storm. She never wanted to let him out of her sight again.

"I found him in a little hole between some rocks. Two mutts were trying to get at him, but they couldn't get in. You're real lucky, y'know. That's a chance in a million. If he hadn't found that hole he would've been torn apart. That's what I was scared of you finding, before. As much as I hate him, I didn't want you to see him dead. And, I sorta understand how you felt before, I guess."

"What?" Frisk asked, confused.

Sans closed his eyes. The snow swirled outside.

"When you said you can't stand crying. I didn't get it at first. I was like, "but it's other people. Not you, not anyone close to you." But just before… I think I felt the same way." Sans looked away. He seemed shy now.

"I didn't like you crying like that. It's like stepping on nails. So, if you've ever gotta punish me for something, just start crying. You'll kill me." Sans joked.

Frisk was silent for a moment. Then she nudged him with her elbow, smiling despite her eyes feeling swollen from all the crying. She felt a warmth in her chest.

"I guess you aren't a 100% jackwipe."

"Naw. If I was I would be eating Chinese right now. Actually, I would have eaten Chinese a long time ago. The next time that cat goes missing expect to be eating stir-fry for dinner."

"Ugh, Sans, that's horrible. Stop. You wouldn't actually eat a cat, would you?"

Sans smirked.

"You can't say you wouldn't do something you're guilty of."

Frisk's eyes turned into disturbed circles and she inched away, holding Storm tighter.

Sans opened his eyes.

"Hey, hey, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I never ate a cat. I ran Snowball or whatever it's name was up a tree, though. But I never ate a cat. Too much work."

"Would you?"

"I just said too much work. You're so goddamn lucky I give two craps about ya, or I wouldn't have gone out for that vermin. Or even be with you now, as a matter of fact."

Frisk returned to her previous spot, right up against Sans. It was too cold to be separated. She was shaking, and she was sure he was too. It really was cold out here.

"Sans…" her voice went soft.

"Thank you for that. And for everything. I know it's kinda... cliched to say but... I mean it."

Sans looked down.

"Huh. Don't mention it. You'll forget it after you're out, anyways."

Frisk blinked.

Oh. That.

"Sans… no I won't. I won't ever forget what happened down here. I won't ever forget you or what you did. Ever."

Sans scoffed.

"Yeah, yeah."

Frisk frowned.

"I'm serious. I know I need to get out _one_ day, but… you have the same feeling too, don't you? We'll find a way out. All of us. Then we can all live together in a giant house- you, me, Alphys, Papyrus, Undyne, Rocky… with a crap ton of cats. And a forest. And a fireplace. And cake and coffee. And cinnamon buns. Or cinnamon coffee cakes!" Frisk was sure her pupils were widening at the thought.

"Hey, calm down there Snap pea. Don't excite yourself. And, uh, that's kinda weird. Why do you wanna live with me?" Sans looked a little defensive.

"Not just you. Everyone. It'll be fun! Though… living with Undyne would be scary…" Frisk shuddered.

Sans's brow furrowed.

"I am not going in the same house as a bunch of cats or Rocky. It's me or him."

Frisk leaned back.

"Oh well. He's probably too busy chasing girls anyways."

"Oh, so he's that kind of guy." Sans growled.

"No, not like that! He's real sweet. Just… lonely, I guess."

"Who the hell chases girls anyways? Why not just sit and wait for 'em. Make them do the work. That way you're not in as many flings and stuff."

"Unless you're hot or something, girls aren't going to be dropping on your doorstep like junk mail. You have to go out and earn it. Like anything else in life. Not like you would know."

Sans's eye twitched.

"So you have to do things to get chicks? Sucks to be me, then. Oh well."

Frisk glanced down at Storm. The kitten was giving her a funny look.

"It sounds like you are in denial. Maybe you would have more luck if you stopped being a jerk."

"I'm too lazy."

"You're impossible."

"Being possible requires effort, of which I am not giving."

Frisk exhaled.

 _Insufferable lump of calcium._

Frisk looked out into the snow storm.

"When are we going to leave? We can't stay here all night…"

Sans looked out with her.

"We can't go out in that, not knowing where we are going. Not to mention we are both hurt and tired. It's best to stay here."

"But it's freezing. We'll freeze here. At least if we move we can keep a little warmer."

"Not really. The wind out there is brutal. We just gotta wait it out. At least in the morning it will be easier to see."

Frisk looked down, hopes plummeting. Storm was huddled against her, shivering.

Her own teeth were chattering. And she could see Sans trembling ever so slightly.

 _This isn't good._

Frisk sighed and leaned against Sans, resting her head on his shoulder. He was right about being tired. She was more than burnt out emotionally, and her body was beat. She was sore and her muscles ached.

Sans flinched, glancing over at her weird. He seemed suddenly a little uncomfortable with her closeness. Then he relaxed.

"Guess you want my body heat, huh?"

"Kinda. And I'm tired." Frisk closed her eyes.

"Well, don't sleep yet. I don't want either of us to sleep. It's a little dangerous. Hypothermia."

"M'not." Frisk replied.

She could hear Sans letting out breath, and seconds later she felt his hand feeling her cheek. Then he felt her good ear.

"… you are getting a little too cold. You want my jacket?"

"No."

"Sure?"

"You need it." Frisk said.

Sans was quiet for a moment.

"… I could drape it over the two of us. You only have that sweater. Which is ruined."

"You never wore it. Or any of those sweaters and shirts you gave me. They're either itchy or too loose, you said."

"I don't care. It's just ruined. Kinda weird you wear my clothes, though." Sans had the weird look again. What was up with him?

"I wear Papyrus's old stuff too. I need clothes. I can't just run around the underground naked. Though you being the pervert you are I'm sure you'd wait till I was frozen before saying something."

Sans stiffened.

"…ew. Thanks for giving me images. I'm not _that_ much of a pervert." Sans shifted a little, almost in an uncomfortable manner. Usually he got a kick out of perverted jokes...

"You're welcome."

"… imma do the thing now."

Before she could protest, Sans had taken his jacket and draped it over both of their shoulder like a coat. His undershirt was a blue long sleeve. It was torn in the middle from one of the dogs and she could see his ribs.

"I don't wanna smell like ketchup."

"If you freeze I'm eating that cat." Sans retorted with.

"…meanie." Frisk stuck her tongue out at him.

He returned the favor.

Time went by slowly. He jacket helped, but she was still cold. Frisk stroked Storm, who was cuddled between her legs. Weird spot, but probably the warmest.

Sans kept shaking her to keep her awake. She was so _tired._ And hungry.

She would give anything for a hot cocoa and a candy bar.

Eventually, Sans's head shot up.

He snarled, his eyes going black.

Frisk jolted into awareness, following his gaze.

Frisk heard the ringing of crude bells.

Someone was standing in front of them, their body just a silhouette against the snow. They were tall and skinny, they had a long, heavy tail and large pointed ears.

Frisk stiffened.

They came a little closer.

"Humf. Guess that's what I smelled. Why are you here?"

Suddenly, there was a sword point aimed towards her, inches from her neck.

* * *

 **Got ya, didn't I! Storms okay :D thanks to Sansy. He's not a complete assclown.**

 **That fight was a little anti-climatic. And not long at all. But it can't really be, after all the stuff going on. The main thing was Storm going missing.**

 **I actually considered leaving him dead, but I didn't want a mob showing up at my door with torches and pitchforks. Plus I was gonna cry if I left him dead. Yes, I cry at my own writing.**

 **I have to suggest you listen to Lie, by Luka. It's a vocaloid song that not only is amazing and tear jerking, but I think it sort of fits how Sans is feeling for Frisk. He feels for her, but he doesn't want to feel that way towards a human. Only not as intensely as the song describes XD.**

 **I really want to have some Howlingtale songs or themes. I don't know how to music, though. But I think a lot of the themes would involve flutes and stuff. That's the feel I get from this AU. And An HT megalovania would include howls and be less upbeat. Probably more somber. I don't know. What kind of instrument or feel do you think would best HT? I also think a Frisk song would be cool. Actual lyric song. Actually, a Sans and Frisk lyric song would be amazing. About being wolves XD "I IS A WOLF, HEAR ME HOOOOOOOO~" (100/10, best song of 2017 XD)**

 **Oh and I totally think Sans would be a Kiss fan.**

 **Anyways, enough of my weirdness. Reviews!**

PaintedWarriorCat: AHH OMG SUCH A GREAT STORY! Frisk and Sans' relationship makes me smile. The two are adorable.

Can't wait for the next part! 3

 **I'm glad you like it! And I know, they are so coot. Sans, stop sulking already XD**

Strange-Charms: Just wanted to let you know that I absolutely love this story and it's creativity! Also, I know the AUs you said that inspired you, and I think that you pulled from them nicely and gave your story the perfect twist that sets it apart.

I really hope to see more of your story soon and thanks for everything so far! cx I love Storm, btw.

Don't bother responding to my review in the bottom portion of the chapter or anything, I don't want ya to get it trouble or anything with the scary admins. xD If ya really want to say something, feel free to shoot me a PM sometime, that should be ok with the Rule People.

(Screaming Lemons)

 **Thank you! And I was a little nervous it was a bit too much like other AU's. There's just so many out there… lol.**

 **We all love Storm. Who doesn't? He a Floofy kitty X3**

 **And I did get the okay to do the review thingy at the bottom. Fully interactive stories are a no no, though. I am testing out my PM's a little now, and so far so good. Hopefully they keep working!**

Laura:I'm Guest from before, just so you know. Anyways, this... I'm SOOO sorry for Frisk! Storm is much more intelligent! Good kitty, helping Frisk find Sans! Also, that train wreck, it's like the one from the one movie, Anastasia, I think it was. Only people actually DIED in this one. You may think you are low in the chain of writers, but us readers know the truth. You are a GOD of writing. And, I'm just guessing, but I have a theory that the cloaked figure is the King disguised as a civilian so he can see just what his subjects are getting up to.

 **The way you worded that it sounds like Storm is smarter than them all XD**

 **Storm is the true mastermind. Everything is because of his masterful planning in search for Meowmix (fufufufu)**

 **I've seen clips of Anastasia when my brothers were watching it. And yes, people died. Many people (much sad)**

 **:3**

Underworlds: So i have the start it made to mirror yours but i don't know how to publish it, help :P

 **Sorry for not Pm-ing, I forgot 0-0 do you know how to publish a story? You go into doc manager and upload the document, edit it if you need, then go to new story and follow the directions there. If you need any further help just Pm me! Warning, my replies may need to be slow or glitchy.**

A Kea for Christmas: Welp, moral of the story is "Sans can generally tell when things are untrustworthy".

Bear that in mind.

Or else.

 **Yup.**

 **When Sans says no trains, he means no trains.**

 **Listen to the bone daddy.**

ILuvFanficXD: Oh my god, this chapter just made me crai a bit. Umg. Much cry; such sad. XD. I love storm, so fluff. I got so much to say, OK, First, you want a comic idea? Hmm. How about sans meeting calibri again? (It can have a dark twist, like calibris remains still being alive due to dt, or sand being happy to find out its a dream. Hue hue hue I'm mean) another idea could be what storm is actually thinking about sans lol. And also; dusthowl sans is nightmare fuel. Dammit sans. SASUKE IS SAS BAE , SE-BAE-STIAN, ITACHI... actually I have no rhymes and the lines on itachis cheeks creep me out yo. LOL

 **The issue with having this Sans meet Calibri is that in this universe, Sans has literally no idea who or what Calibri is. This is a separate Sans Skeledad and he'd probably be like "CAT, CAT, CHINESE FOOD!" (Go sit in a corner Sans)**

 **And omg I had an amazing idea for the Storm thing. What if Storm has a possessive outlook on Frisk, as well as Sans? Oh no… lol**

 **There would be both a Dusttale and a Howlingtale Sans, but since Sans is Sans he'd be considered Moon-blood and still be affected, even though he's from a different universe.**

 **STEAMING HOT ANIME GUYS! XD**

And the story takes a turn for the worse... *shivers*

 **Yup.**

FictionGirl11: I am JUST NOW reading this chapter (and all the not chapter bits). I wan't to smack my email because thats how I know things have updated but I cannot smack an app and its unfair to my phone to use it as proxy. In case you cannot recieve the PM I sent (again I just finished reading this after I sent it and realized this had updated) the jist of it is I drew fanart, do you want to see it? I don't have a DA account. If is a butt and wont let you see it or reply or whatever other complications it throws at you (it used to not let me review so all my reviews had to be through PM otherwise it would freeze every few letters so I totally understand the frustration) If DocX connection doesn't work we can figure something else out. Given, of course, if you want to see it. To the actual review of the chapter!

I had a hunch that the cloaked dude was the king and now I'm almost positive. Yay for intuition! I think its really smart to have Frisk encounter this level of tragedy, it helps her put things into perspective and is one of those things that helps build character when they realize how some things are inevitable and you can't change the past really, even when you can go back. Another thing I need to mention is that you made the resets a finite resource. That really helps pull in the aforementioned lesson and character building. I commend you for that.

 **I have responded to your PM!**

 **Your hunch is correct. Can you figure out** _ **who**_ **he is now? I gave some clues!**

 **Poor Frisk. Poor just about any of my characters in any of my stories. Character abuse.**

 **I wanted to have the resets as finite because if Frisk could just reset here wouldn't be much point in being afraid of death, would there?**

 **Welp, there you have it. I hope you all have a wonderful day, and enjoy the snow if your like me and got snow!**

 **From the Wolf in the mountains,**

 **Comycat~**


	27. Chapter 26- Skeletons can sneeze!

**New, NEW note: god I keep adding stuff. Welp, Net Neutrality was repealed. This is very serious. Fanfiction may go under. I beg you to read up on Net Neutrality, and fight to bring it back. And, go around and save anything you would like to keep from the internet (such as this story?) in case in a few months ISP's take it down.**

 **Plus I broke and revealed the king on DA. It wasn't supposed to be leaked until the fight with him in the story. But if you want to know (obvious spoils for the story) go over and look.**

 **Hint: one of you in the reviews got it ;)**

 **New note: Sorry for being late in both update and responding to stuff. I was pretty gosh darn sick the other day and I couldn't walk out to a place with wifi (hell, I could hardly walk up and down the stairs) so this authors note below is not reflecting my current mood. Too bad though because I love Caramello. Life would be perfect XD**

 **I am eating a Caramello and listening to ASMR and I'm just in a zone right now.**

 **By the way if you don't know what AMSR is it's basically creating sounds that trigger "relaxation tingles" in someone. It feels really nice. Some sounds can be a little weird, but some are just tapping or hair brushing or reading and stuff like that. So many people have the idea that ASMR is a fetish or something but it's actually a very healthy relaxation thing and also helps with sleep disorders. I suggest you check out a trigger video (not the meme kind) to see if it works for you. I recommend ASMR psyche truth or Whispers Red. It doesn't work for everyone, some people only have the reaction to certain sounds and some people have a reaction to most sounds. I'm sort of in the middle of the spectrum. I really like singing and book tapping ^_^**

 **Now on to something actually relevant to the story. Lol. I've been getting some fanart recently and I have to say, I'm really, really happy! It's nice to see people so much better at art than me drawing stuff from my story! I suggest if any of you have time to go make a deviantart account. Even if you don't draw. We can all have a gif meme battle in come random comments section. Or make memes.**

 **Let us meme.**

* * *

Frisk's eyes fixed on the sword, her heart pounding.

 _Oh no._

Sans growled and pushed halfway in front of her.

"Don't move! Explain."

It was a silver furred cat, with a lean face and tall ears. Her ears had tuffs of fur on them. Daggers were tied all around her waist and her fur had dark leopard like spots.

 _A snow leopard… Egyptian cat mix?!_

Frisk grabbed Sans's arm.

"Easy…" she could tell he was getting ready to fight. She was too tired- they both were. It would be better to avoid something if they could.

Maybe this cat could help us?

"We were riding a train and it crashed. We started walking and got stuck out here when we got attacked by some dogs. We were just waiting here till morning." Frisk said. She could feel Sans's bones vibrate a little under his clothes from deep growling.

The cat blinked, and withdrew the sword a little bit. Frisk felt Storm peak up, curious.

"Foolish to be walking around Blizzardland at night." She said dryly.

"And what does it mean to you? It's not like you own it." Sans snarled.

Frisk gave him a slight shake, frowning.

"Sans!"

 _He's been really aggressive lately. Why is he being a douche?!_

If the cat was bothered by it, she didn't say. Something flashed in her deep green eyes.

"Yes, I do own this portion. You are on my property, in a far corner of the lands. I saw the dead dogs and smelled blood. One of you is very eager to kill." Her eyes narrowed as they fell on Sans.

At first Frisk wondered how she knew, then she realized the bones coupled with the bloodstains on Sans's cloths must give him away.

Sans bared his teeth.

"It was either us or them. I've been dealing with those damn things for all my life, and I'm sick of it. Besides, killing them is a hell of a lot easier than not killing them. I learned it from my father." Sans spat the word like venom.

Frisk blinked and looked over at him. What?

"I know." The cat's voice was dark. "I knew Gaster. Sans, correct?"

Sans shot up, snarling. Frisk jumped up, Storm scrambling onto her shoulder in fear.

"Sans! Calm down!" She kept a hold on his arm. His aggression was worrying her sick. _What if he attacks?_

The cat buried her feet into the ground, pupils narrow slits of coal.

"I will not attack unless you do. I suggest you listen to that human."

"How did you know Gaster?! Did you work for him!?"

 _Who's Gaster?_ Frisk wondered. _I may have heard that name before._ Man, she was bad at remembering names of people she never met.

"I've known him from long ago. We were friends. We grew apart when he… met someone." A brief flash of emotion shimmered in her eyes.

Frisk felt a rush of empathy.

"We still talked from now and again." She finished.

Sans's snarl worsened.

"Oh, did he talk about the shit he did in that lab? Or did he conveniently leave that part out when he talked about me."

Frisk shuddered at the venom in Sans's voice. Storm softly mewed.

The cat looked confused.

"No, I do not recall. He mostly talked about how much he hated monster-kind for taking away all he had. And how he couldn't stand himself. I don't know what he did. And it matter not now, does it?"

Sans's only response was a deep, vicious sound.

Frisk swallowed.

"Sans, please… calm down a little." She grabbed his shoulder.

Sans flinched and pushed her away with a snap. Frisk yelped and fell snack against the wall.

Storm cried out in fear.

Frisk stared at Sans, who was now looking at her with wide eyes.

 _What's wrong with him? Why is he being like this?_

Sans took a step back.

"S-sorry… I… I didn't… sorry, Frisk… I didn't mean to push you like that. Or scare you."

Frisk noticed her legs were trembling and her tail was inching between her legs. He had _snapped_ at her.

Frisk shook herself.

 _He won't lash out at me. I just startled him, is all._

The cat decided to intervene. Her sword was sheathed.

"In most cases I would leave you here considering how rude you were to me, but not only because I knew your father, and you have someone with you who isn't rude as an ass I will let you stay in my cabin for the rest of the night. As long as you don't try to maul my or your… partners skin off, of course." The cat glanced between the two of them. Sans shrunk a little.

Frisk swallowed. Could she trust this cat? Well, even if she couldn't Sans would probably have three eyes on her at all times so she didn't have to worry.

Frisk separated from the wall, taking a deep breath.

"I'm okay with it, if Sans is…" she looked over at Sans.

Sans avoided her gaze.

"Fine." His voice was low. It was hard to hear over the wind outside.

The cat blinked.

"Wise choice. My name is Silver, nice to meet you."

"I'm…Frisk."

Silver held her hand/paw out to Frisk.

Frisk hesitated. Last time she gave someone a handshake it ended with a whoopee cushion and-

Before she could finish the thought, Storm jumped from her shoulder onto Silver's arm, tail waving back and forth slowly. It stood high in the air.

"Oh, and whose this little guy?" Silver asked with amusement heavy in her voice.

Storm padded up her arm and rubbed his head against her chest, meowing for pets. Silver started gently running her hand through the kittens fur, her whiskers twitching.

"His name is Storm." Frisk said, a little jealous. Then she realized a cat was loving a cat and laughed out loud. Silver looked so much bigger than Storm, considering she was a monster cat. Storm was even smaller than one of her large, fur tufted ears. Frisk wondered how Silver could deal with the strong winds with ears that big, then chalked it up to the thick, fuzzy fur around them.

"Why, hello Storm. You're a friendly little guy, huh?" Silver picked Storm up and handed him back to Frisk. Storm at first kicked in protest before realizing he was returning to Frisk and happily accepted, curling up against her breast.

Frisk felt her heart melt from his cuteness.

 _I will forever cherish this Floofy kitten._

Silver took a few steps back.

"Follow me."

As Silver began to walk out into the snow once more, Frisk noticed she had bells tied around her neck. They chimed softly with her movement. They were silver and hard to see against her fur, which is why she didn't notice them before.

Frisk glanced over at Sans and took a few steps towards Silver.

Sans followed her hesitantly. He pulled his hood up and looked down at the ground.

Storm looked over at him, ears twitching. His eyes were wide.

Frisk let Sans catch up, looking between him and Silver to make sure they didn't lose her. Her figure seemed to melt into the darkness and snow, and the bells chimed loudly in the wind.

"Sans, I know you don't want to do this, but… if you really are that upset, we ca-"

"It's not that." Sans cut her off.

Frisk blinked.

"Then what? You're upset, don't try to deny it. Remember what we talked about?"

She saw his shoulders rise and fall as he sighed.

"… if you really gotta know it's that I snapped at you. I could've hurt you."

Frisk inhaled.

 _Oh, that…_

She swallowed and tried not to look away.

"All you did is push me away, I should've know better than to touch you when you were like that. Which brings us to the problem of why you've been so aggressive lately. What happened to chill Sans?" Frisk asked, tilting her head. Storm buried himself more in her clothes.

Sans was quiet for a moment.

"… I don't know. I've just been really easily ticked off. Maybe it was staying in the lab bringing back stuff, I dunno."

Frisk blinked.

"Lab? You seemed fine then…"

"Yeah, I don't know. But… Frisk, please be careful. You keep on insisting I can't hurt you, and I wish I could tell that to myself too. But I can't, because the truth is is that I could hurt you. I almost want to have you travel without me…"

Frisk wanted to slap him. Instead she buried her feet into the snow stubbornly and pointed at him. He leaned back, eyes wide.

"Sans, I'll do what I think I have to do. I'm not scared of you, and after all that happened I'm not gonna back away just because you're being a little moody. And if you think I am going anywhere in my own think again, bone bag. You started this, you are going to finish this with me whether you like it or not."

Sans blinked a few times, taken by surprise.

"Okay, okay… jeez, you can get moody yourself when you want something. I…" Sans trailed off. He was staring at her face.

"What?" Frisk asked.

Sans snorted.

"Heh, you got a glob of snow right on your nose." Suddenly he reached forward and placed one of his fingers on her nose. Frisk blinked and looked down at it, going cross eyed.

"Heheh, boop." Sans was smiling.

Frisk grumbled and tried to swipe his hand away.

"Sans, stoppit."

"Why? You owe me for saving your kitten. KARMA." Sans poked her stomach, catching her unawares.

Frisk yelped and jumped.

 _Damn skeleton knows I'm ticklish, the stupid, stupid… I wonder…_

Frisk leaped and poked at his ribs. Sans yelped in a similar way she did and batted her hand away.

"Oh, so we're playing that game?"

"You started it!"

Frisk poked his ribs again. Sans made a noise in his throat and tried to poke her side, but she twisted out of the way.

"I thought you were supposed to follow me, not play like kits!" A voice said sternly behind her.

Frisk jumped beside Sans, looking over at Silver. Sans's eyes narrowed.

"S-sorry… he started it!" Frisk pointed at him.

"I couldn't help the urge to boop your nose." Sans retorted.

Silvers whiskers twitched. Amusement lit her eyes, followed by… longing?

"Oh, I see. Seems Gaster wasn't the only one with likings for humans."

Sans's expression darkened at the name, but before he could open his big mouth Silver turned and began walking again.

As they continued through the snow storm, taking a few turned around small, snow covered trees, Frisk leaned closer to Sans.

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking… who is Gaster?"

Sans didn't seem surprised she asked. If he was triggered by it he hid it well.

"My late father. I'll tell you about him some other time."

"Oh."

Frisk shook snow off of her head.

 _Is that part of what he needs to talk to me about? Well, no use in bugging him. He promised._

Frisk caught the scent of smoke on the wind, as well as wool and pine.

The rounded a corner and came face to face with a large cabin. It was built sturdily in the cover off a rocky crest, sheltering it from some of the winds. A soft, yellow light glowed inside.

Silver walked up to it and opened the door.

"Come on in. You may sleep in the living room and leave whenever you'd like. You may also eat some of the food I have but please do not go overboard. The bathroom is up the ladder. I need to go to the capital to get some groceries, which is what I was doing before I found you two. Don't mess any of my stuff up or go into the other rooms or I will track you down and claw your face out."

"O…Kay." Frisk said, shuddering a little.

Silver nodded.

"Good. See you around."

Just as suddenly as she appeared, she left, fading into the snow. The only thing left was the distant chime of her bells.

"Smart." Sans huffed.

"Huh?"

"Those bells. They would help repel those dogs. The sound they make scares them off, plus with how many of them she has there it would make it sound like there a lot of her when there's just one. Shepherds a long time ago would use bells, both to command their dogs and keep wolves at bay." Sans explained.

Frisk stared off into the distance.

 _Huh. That's interesting. And he's right, smart._

Frisk turned and entered the cabin.

It was smaller inside than it looked from the outside, probably due to the thick walls. The floor was made of wool carpet, very soft and warm. Various swords and daggers hand from the walls, as well as a… decorative dog head, still snarling. Frisk wondered if it was fake or really stuffed.

The cabin was incredibly warm, and Frisk felt her fingers burning already. It was a little crowded, with a small living room connected to a long kitchen, and a ladder leading up to the next floor. Silver seemed to like gargoyles, as there were many of the stone decorations everywhere.

The couch was very small, too small to sleep on. But with the wool floor plus the excess of blankets everywhere it didn't seem like much of an issue.

Storm jumped off of her and explored, and Frisk let him. She prayed he wouldn't mess anything up.

Sans had gone around gathering the blankets, looking at everything suspiciously.

Frisk swallowed.

"I am going to go to the bathroom and see if she has bandages in the bathroom. Plus, I gotta go."

Sans snorted in response.

Frisk climbed up the ladder, her tail helping her stay balanced.

The bathroom was literally the smallest bathroom she had ever been in, with a shower on one wall, sink on the other and the toilet tucked at the far wall.

The cabinets were stuffed full of bandages, Frisk was relieved to find. Silver seemed stocked up of various things, almost like she anticipated visitors. Which didn't explain her drawing her sword at first sight of them.

 _Maybe she doesn't like Moon-Bloods. Or wolves. Maybe she could tell or something, I don't know._

Frisk came back down to find Sans sprawled out on the carpet, surrounded by countless blankets. He looked up lazily.

"Heya."

Frisk displayed the bandages.

"I'm going to go get some food, then get some water. We need to get cleaned up. Both of us." She glared at him. She knew he was probably going to try to get out of it.

Sans's head collapsed.

"Take care of yourself, I'm tired. I'll fix myself up tomorrow."

"Saaaaannnsss... you are getting bandaged now. No arguing." Frisk walked out before he could reply.

Silver had lots of dried meat, corn and bread. She also had plenty of fish in the fridge, as well as what looked like venison. She had little variety. Frisk took some fish for Storm and herself, bread and dried meat for Sans. She got two cups of apple cider for them as well.

Frisk also found a cloth and got a bowl of warm water.

He seemed to sense the seafood and gave her a face when she walked in, arms full with the plates, drinks and the bowl.

"I. Am. Not. Eating. Fish. Unlike you I would not like to be mistaken for a cat." He growled.

"Sans, no. It's not for you so calm down. And Storm. Storm! Pspspspspss!" Frisk called.

It took a few tries, but eventually Storm came trotting along.

His eyes lit up immediately at the smell of the fish.

Frisk gave him a large piece, almost as big as him.

His fur fluffed up into maximum poof, his tail bushing. He took the fish in his little thorn sharp teeth and let out the most menacing growl he could conjure… which was about enough to send someone's bunny slippers running.

Frisk burst out laughing. Sans glanced at the kitten with half lidded eyes.

"Oh, you think that's yours? Let me fix that." Sans reached for the fish.

Storm growled and back up. Sans grabbed the far end of the fish and tugged. Storm let out a wobbling snarl and tugged back, digging his tiny feet into the floor. Sans huffed in amusement.

"Sans! Stop it, I thought you didn't like fish." Frisk had a tear in her eye. He was so cute!

"I don't. But I don't like the furball either." He tugged again, shaking the fish back and forth. Storms head moved with the fish.

Frisk pulled Sans's hand away, and the second Sans let go Storm bolted, safely clutching his prize.

"You are such a bully. Here, I've got other stuff for you." Frisk presented the large plate. There was plenty of dried meat, as well as the bread. She put her smaller plate of fish on the glass table, as well as the bowl and drinks. She settled into the blankets.

"Cool. Though I prefer fresh. Are ya sure this isn't poisoned?"

Frisk sighed.

"It's from her cabinet, I'm sure she didn't go through the trouble of poisoning her entire food supply just for us."

Sans took a piece of meat and tore a strip off with his teeth.

"Wouldn't doubt it."

Frisk rolled her eyes and took a small bite of fish. It tasted like salmon.

"Sans, not every cat is sent from hell to make you pay for your sins. Actually, just about no cats are. And though she didn't seem happy at first, when she recognized you she seemed pretty cool. Since she knew your dad?"

" _Father."_ Sans corrected bitterly between bites of meat.

"And she didn't really know the Gaster I knew. I remember now, he used to talk about a cat who used to talk to him a lot. He said he though she liked him at some point, then he met… well, let's just say Silver never got her chance." Sans shoved an entire piece of bread into his mouth so he couldn't talk anymore.

Frisk blinked.

"…oh. I saw wistfulness in her eyes, and I figured as much. Heh, funny to think if things went differently she could've been your mom." Frisk took some of the dried meat. Not too bad, though like Sans she would rather eat fresh and juicy. It had nice, strong flavor though.

"If she was, I wouldn't be a skeleton. Monster genes override the hybrid skeleton genes. Skeleton plus monster doesn't equal skeleton, only monster or skeleton plus human can equal skeleton." Sans said with his mouth full.

"Wait, so skeletons are hybrids of humans and monsters?"

"Yup. I think I told you that."

"I don't think you outright said it. I don't know. Lots of stuff has been going on." Frisk took a sip of the apple cider.

"That's why Paps and I are the only ones left. Since we were separated from humans, we couldn't continue to keep our race up. And we can't reproduce with ourselves cause we can only be male."

"Stupid genes. Assuming the genders of skeletons." Frisk said sarcastically.

Sans chuckled.

"Yeah. But you think we're odd, just imagine explaining a female skeleton. That really wouldn't work."

"True."

Sans finished eating pretty fast (he seemed very hungry) and rolled over onto his stomach (?), closing his eyes.

Frisk put her food down and took the bowl of warm water. The cloth had been soaking in the water for awhile.

"Not yet mister, get up. And take your shirt off so I can get to that scratch on your ribs."

Sans glanced over at her cheekily.

"You've been rather bossy lately. Looks like I'm not the only one with some disposition changes. Just cause I won't eat ya' doesn't mean you tell me what to do."

Frisk pushed air out of her nose.

"Unless you want me chewing your bones you had better get up."

"What bones? That could be taken out of context, Puppo. I'd rather no teeth involved down there."

 _PERVERT!_

Frisk threw a piece of fish at him, and he got up pretty quickly.

"Okay, fine. I'm too lazy to argue." Sans pulled his jacket and shirt off.

Frisk had never seen his rib cage without something over it. Somehow it shocked her, though she knew it was there. It was just odd to look at.

She could see deep, glowing blue splotches across his ribs, and she concluded that they were a skeletons way of bruising, seeing as it was the same color as his magic. It must have been from the train.

Frisk took the cloth and squeezed water from it. The scratch wasn't deep at all. That bite on his arm and the gash on his leg were more concerning, though she knew those weren't bad either.

Sans shied away from the cloth.

"Come on, just bandage it, I d-"

"Sans, you made me suffer through this so I'm gonna make you suffer too."

Sans let out a long groan and crossed his arms.

"You are impossible sometimes."

"So are you." Sans replied.

"Practice what you preach."

Sans apparently did have very ticklish and sensitive ribs. He jerked at even the slightest touch. Eventually Frisk finished and got it bandaged and moved to the other wounds, and they went much smoother.

When she pulled away, Sans held his hand out expectantly.

"My turn."

"What?"

"Give It to me."

"I can do m-"

"Practice what you preach, remember? You made me suffer, imma make you suffer. Besides, most of yours you can't even reach well."

Frisk huffed and gave in.

Storm had finished his fish and came padding over, stomach round and full. He plopped down on her lap as she was forced to let Sans clean up her wounds. She had the two bites and all the tiny cuts from the glass. To her surprise some of the glass was still stuck in her skin, and it hurt like hell now that she wasn't partially numbed by the snow.

Sans quickly softened when he found this out. The glass was stuck deep, and it was difficult to pull out.

"Here, last one. Easy… there you go. You good?"

"Sans, its just glass…" Frisk muttered. She was tired.

"And it was in there deep, plus it was left for a little bit. I would imagine it hurts pretty bad, but I don't know. I don't have skin."

It took much longer for her not only because of the glass but because she had more wounds than Sans. Most were the tiny cuts, though.

By the time it was all done Frisk's head was hanging. She had closed her eyes.

 _Thank the stars, is he done? I want to sleep._

She felt his hand graze her scarred ear.

Frisk jumped and turned around to face him.

"Easy. I just wanna check it."

"It's healed, there's nothing to check, don't touch." Frisk glared at his hand.

She could hear Sans exhale.

"Fine. I'll leave you alone now."

"Good. I want to sleep."

Frisk rolled onto the floor and snuggled into the blankets before he could argue.

"… 'night, cranky."

She felt him ruffle her hair. Frisk groaned and pushed his hand away, smiling.

"Damn you Sans."

Storm mewed and pawed his way under the blanket, snuggling close to her.

Exhaustion brought sleep on fast.

…

 _She was falling again._

 _The train._

 _She could smell smoke and hear the shrieking of metal. But there was no one else, no one screaming but her. But even though she felt herself making the noise no sound came out._

 _Then the train finally crashed into the ground, rolling to a stop._

 _Frisk gasped for breath, her chest heaving. Tears streamed from her eyes._

" _Sans! Storm?" She called out._

 _But nobody came._

 _Frisk scrambled to her feet and ran out the crooked door. The wind was howling outside, throwing the snow around._

 _Frisk felt her blood go cold and her limbs lock in place._

 _Thorn._

 _He was there, his throat still torn open. His jacket was soaked in crimson. She could see the muscle and bone under the torn flesh._

 _At his feet was Sans. He was twitching, eyes wide. Blood pooled from countless wounds, and his eyes were wide and dark._

 _A small gray scrap of fur lie lifeless a little ways away._

 _Frisk started to tremble uncontrollably. She couldn't move, couldn't talk, couldn't-_

 _Thorn walked over slowly, face tilted and fangs bared. Blood dribbled down his jaws._

 _She couldn't run away._

 _Sans went limp._

 _Frisk felt a painful sob rip her chest, but her legs still wouldn't move._

 _Thorn was towering over her now, eyes sharp with hatred._

" _You thought I would forget? Forget how you_ _murdered me?_ _"_

 _Thorn took a hold of her neck._

 _With his other hand he held out his claws, which seemed much longer than before._

" _Let's so how you like it!"_

 _He flicked his arm up, burying his claws into her flesh and ripping it open. Frisk couldn't make a sound as she felt herself being torn open._

 _Frisk looked down. There was a huge gash from her waist to her chest, wide open. She could see so much blood, and bone and throbbing organs-_

…

Frisk shot up, gasping for air. Her heart was racing a million miles an hour and her head was fuzzy.

She felt a firm grip on her shoulder shake her.

"Frisk! Cm'on, snap outta it!" Sans urged.

Frisk looked over, feeling cold sweat run down her face.

"S-Sans?" She felt herself calm down a little.

 _Just a dream, Thorn's dead, he can't hurt me or Sans or Storm…_

Sans was staring at her with alarm. She could see Storm's big blue eyes looking up at her, wide.

After a moment she felt her heartbeat slow.

Sans sighed in relief.

"Good, good. I thought you were gonna have another episode."

"E-episode?"

"Panic attack. So, nightmare?" Sans pulled his hand away and sat back. All the lights were off. Frisk felt like she hadn't slept that long. It must be around dawn, though with the swirling snow it would be hard to tell.

Frisk looked down, wiping the sweat from her face.

"…yeah. I'm fine now."

"You sure? You even woke me up, you were thrashing around pretty hard. Wanna talk about it?"

"No thank you…"

Sans moved to sit next to her, stretching.

"Remember what you bug me about, the whole talking thing. But I get if you don't want to, as well. Do what you feel is best."

Frisk closed her eyes and sighed, running her hand through Storm's soft fur.

"I… I won't go into d-details, but… it involved Thorn."

"Oh. Like I said if it bothers you y-"

"Sans, its fine. You're right. I just…"

Frisk pulled her knees into her chest, forcing Storm off of her. The kitten mewed in protest and tried going over to Sans, who shoved him away. Storm then padded back to Frisk and curled up at her side, shooting Sans a look.

Frisk felt a shudder pass through her body.

"I'm just scared. That it will happen again, or… I'm just scared. I'm such a damn coward…" Frisk felt her ears flatten and she tail curl around herself.

Sans inched closer and laid his hand on her back. Frisk didn't flinch.

She could feel his eyes staring holes through her soul.

"Hey, there's no reason to be scared… at least, no use in it. You may even be scared anyways, just cause of instinct, but just don't pay any attention to it. You're not a coward for being scared. It's what you do with that fear that defines what you are. Everyone is scared, there's no such thing as being fearless as much as you'd like to believe. Even the bravest people are scared. So no need to beat yourself up for it, k?"

"Hmmm…" Frisk hummed, staring straight ahead. Sans had started rubbing slow circles onto her back. She liked that…

Frisk sighed and leaned over onto Sans, tired.

Sans tensed a little.

"Y'know, Sans… you can be a really nice friend when you try."

Her eyes were closed, but she could imagine Sans looking away with that bashful look on his face.

"Heh… I guess so. Guess I'm less of an ass the less lazy I am."

Sans had stopped the back rubbing. Frisk opened her eyes and grunted.

"I liked that. Don't stop."

Sans blinked. His eye lights changed size like a cat's pupils. It was cool to watch.

She wondered what the sizes meant. Right now they were a bit bigger than normal, and bright.

"Uh… okay. You know, this is kinda awkward."

Sans continued the back rubs. Frisk yawned, instantly relaxing. She liked using Sans as a pillow. He was warm.

"So? Who cares."

"…I… may? A little? Cuddling is kinda an intimate activity…"

"Get your mind out of the gutter and get rid of your damn stereotypes. I thought you were too lazy to care about such a thing." Storm climbed up between her legs. She could feel his tiny paws kneading her.

After a moment Sans relaxed and leaned back a little.

"Fiiine, there's no arguing with you. And yeah, honestly I though I was too lazy to care as well."

"Mmmmmhh."

Frisk was drifting off again. Her mind was heavy.

 _Maybe I can sleep now? Without a nightmare, please?_

She had no idea why she was asking herself for no nightmares, but she didn't ponder it as she sunk into sleep.

She was sure Sans probably didn't appreciate her falling asleep on him but whatever.

…

When Frisk opened her eyes next the wind had stopped outside. It was bright, and the room was lit with natural light.

She was sprawled out on top of Sans's torso in possibly one of the weirdest sleeping positions ever. Sans was practically dead on the floor below her. He was snoring rather loudly.

Frisk twitched her ear in annoyance and sat up.

She was still tired as all hell, and she didn't have her coffee.

Frisk eventually got herself to get up, clean up the mess from last night and get breakfast. She felt bad taking more of Silver's food but she was starving and Silver seemed well stocked. She took more meat, some milk and then wrapped herself in blankets while eating her meal.

Storm sat with her, begging her for food. He had no table manners, like a certain skeleton she knew.

Speaking of skeleton, without Frisk to block some of the light he was waking up now, groaning.

He sounded a little off.

Frisk looked over at him as he stretched, bones cracking into place.

"Morning, sleepy bones."

Sans groaned in response and looked at her food with half lidded eyes.

"You want some?" Frisk held up some of her meat.

Sans moved closer without another word.

He slowly began chewing on the meat, still half asleep. Storm growled softly, protectively holding his food.

Suddenly, Sans inhaled sharply. Then he sneezed…

And got both spit and a pale blue liquid that felt like phlegm on her arm.

Frisk shifted away, holding her arm out.

"Augh, ew! Saaaannns!" She whined. Oh god, that was disgusting.

Sans wiped his nose, sniffing.

"S-sorry, Puppo. I think I got a cold or something?"

Frisk wiped her arm off on the carpet, reminding herself to go upstairs and bleach her entire arm. She didn't like the sick skeleton jelly on her arm… or anywhere.

"How do skeletons get cold, and have snot!"

"It's not like human mucus. It's magic stuff. When we get colds it infects our magic and it comes out like that. Not the same as a human cold but similar in nature. Careful, I may be able to pass it to you."

"Joy." Frisk groaned.

Now she would have to enjoy a skeleton cold. Yay.

…

They set out near midday. Frisk argued Sans should just stay and wait for Silver due to his illness, but he insisted on leaving. Frisk wrote Silver a thank you note and made a mental note to repay her some way.

Frisk had more energy than yesterday, and moving through Blizzardland was easier now that it wasn't in a snow storm. Storm even followed on the ground, his little body light enough to not break through the snow.

Eventually, they finally reached the elevators that would take them to the MTT hotel. They were set up along the side of a huge mountain. Mountain in a mountain?

Frisk hung back, staring up in awe at their massive height as Sans walked up to it and pressed the button.

It lit up, and the door made a clicking sound and shook a little, but it didn't open.

Frisk moved to stand besides Sans as he pressed the button a little more forcefully.

"Dammit, don't tell me it's not working again." Sans started cursing under his breath, banging the button. No response from the elevator.

"Shit." Sans sneezed and back away, glaring at the elevator.

Without warning, the elevator squeaked open, doors movie agonizingly slow.

Sans stepped inside, and Frisk followed.

"Finally, the damn thing works." He pressed a button and the doors closed just as slow as they opened.

The elevator sounded abysmal as it moved up, probably due to the rust caused by the ice or something similar. Frisk stared out the window, Storm now on her shoulders to look out as well.

Eventually she could see all of Blizzardland. She could even see the tiny line of the train. What has seemed so big and horrible up close was now nothing bigger than a blade of grass in the distance.

The elevator stuttered to a stop. Sans glared out the window.

"We aren't there yet, dammit. Work." He slammed the side.

Frisk felt a jolt of fear. _What if we get stuck up here or something?_

Sans slammed the elevator again.

"Sans, don't do that! You might break it more!"

Sans huffed and did it again.

"Sans!"

"It's the only thing that works. These things are trash."

Suddenly, the elevator made the ugliest screeching sound she had ever heard and started moving again.

It stopped three more times. Even though it had only been about 15 minutes, Sans was now laying on the floor looking ready to nap. He would kick the elevator when it stopped.

Storm was getting anxious, and Frisk didn't blame him. She didn't like being in a dysfunctional elevator. What if they fell?

Eventually, they reached their destination. Sans got up slowly, coughing a little.

"Are you okay?" Frisk asked, feeling a pang of sympathy. _Must suck being sick in this situation. After everything…_

"M'fine, were here." Sans pressed the button to open the elevator.

They were now on a long path that led to a large cave in the mountain side.

Sans started walking along the path without another word.

There was a tiny flame guy on some sort of hover saucer right next to the path.

"Hey, you remember my name?" He asked.

Frisk inched closer to Sans uncomfortably.

"Um, n-"

"Yeah, sure." Sans said before she could finish.

The monsters jaw dropped.

"What! How could I be defeated!"

 _Uhhh… weird…_

Frisk just brushed it off and stuck close to Sans.

There were stairs at the mouth of the cave, and lights shone from within.

The stairs were covered in anti-ice salt. Every footsteps made a crunching sound as they went up.

At the top was something rather surprising.

It was a huge building built into the cave, fancy and clean looking. The windows glowed with light. There was a huge, neon sign reading "MTT Resort" on the front. A long, red carpet extended from the doors.

"We're here. MTT." Sans said with a sniffle.

Storm meowed in happiness, and Frisk sighed in relief.

 _Finally._

* * *

 **This was going to be way, way longer. Originally the elevator wasn't going to work and they would have to climb, but I decided to leave it out. Because I'm already having issues typing as it is (my eyes are leaking from my cold so… yeah. So is my nose. Wonderful.)**

 **One leik equal 1 tissu for sick skelly XD**

 **Anyways…. SHIP SHIP SHIP SHIP SHIP SHIP SHIP SHIP SHIP SHIP SHIP!**

 **I made a little comic that I got an idea for from a suggestion made by ILuvFanfic. It's not really how Storm feels about Sans now, more like how Storm would feel about Frans… let's just say not everyone is Shipping the Ship XD**

Toboe:Sorry for not reviewing sooner!

OMAGOD STORM IS SO KAWAII XD kitty. Better not let Sans the cat eater get a hold of him (Sans, are you Asian?)

Make sure to take care of yourself, cause there's someones out there who really care about you :D

A Dusttale Howlingtale crossover? That doesn't sound like it could end well... lol. I saw the Horrortale crossover on Deviantart. Will that get a story too? Or was that a one time little project? I could see a Horrortale crossover being actually pretty cool. Only issue is that it's entire universe has not been expanded yet.

If therz ani crozzover u shud do itz with wolfz rainz. Make Sanz jelly of Kiba becauz he hawt and Frisk be Leik "damn dat a**" (I'm sorry XD)

Then have Tsume date Grillby. And make Toboe the king. And Kiba can be n*** for the entire length of the story even though this is like Arctic setting (nice frozen stick, Kiba. I'm pretty sure that's not the same one we fall with... but it could still be used as a weapon ;D) and then Alphys can die from nosebluuds because Kiba is just walking around n***. Then Kiba and Sans can have a dong measuring contest and Toriel walks in on it XD THEN SHE JOINS IN WITH HER MASSIVE-

(The rest of this review has been censored by the review gods due to its extreme crackiness XD I'm so sorry it's three in the morning and I've had two monsters and a snickers)

 **I hate you I just finished wolfs rain how could you get me attached to all the freakin characters only for THAT TO HAPPEN! YOU BASTARD XD**

 **Yeah, the Horrortale thing is a one time deal. It was originally the crossover I was going to do but as I learned more about it I decided I didn't want to crossover after all.**

 **This. Is. The funniest. Review. Ever.**

 **Yeas.**

 **Sans would be so jelly of Kiba. SO JELLY. DAT ASS!**

 **And that last part. Yes, you have issues. I have issues. So, Toriel would just walk in and be like "spoiler alert boys" and whip out a massive dong? What the hell XD That shall now be a new AU called Dongtale. Yeah.**

 **NSFW kids.**

Oh I got snow alright... blech. I prefer the tropics. T.T lol I liked this chapter. If storm died I would cry for hours hugging my cat saying "it's okayyy... it's not really de..ad *sobs*" petition to protect cinnakitties. Lol that's a thing now. I think that violin suits frisk, and high tempo stuffs suit sans, cuz megalovania. Birbderps. Baii (also read bird derps on Webtoon it's funny.)

 **I'm practically a polar bear. Love snow. I hate heat and summer :/**

 **WE MUST RISE TO PROTECT CINNAKITTY**

 **I'll check it out when I have a chance :D**

A Kea for Christmas: Awww. At the end of the deeply-scarring-and-traumatic day, there's still a floofy kitten rescue. :D

Let's totally all forget the massive disaster, and revel in the kitten-ness.

 **Floof.**

 **Floof kitten fixes everything.**

Laura:SNOW. We may have a white Christmas after all! I hope so, anyways. As for the review... Sans is one heck of a fighter. And Frisk is really getting in touch with her inner wolf. Although, the way I envision her, she actually fights more like a cat than a wolf, but whatever. As for Storm, I really think he's more than just an ordinary cat at this point. He can sense danger, knows how to avoid it, and had an innate sense of what the humans (or monsters) are saying. Maybe he's a monster in disguise? (ooh!) As for that Gaster bit... I have a hunch that maybe Gaster is the king. Either that, or the River-person from in game. You are very good at writing, you know! Continue your stories, and you'll be up there with the famous ones in no time!

 **Me too! I wish it would be white for like, half the year. I'm racist to seasons :b**

 **Don't mess with Sans. Especially when he's in man-period mode. Moody Skeleton is never a good thing XD**

 **Yeah, I realized that. But you gotta use what you gotta use, amirite? Frisk isn't as… animalistic as Sans (yet) so she'd rather use her nails than bite your face off. Plus, she doesn't fight to kill. Sans is over here snapping necks like twigs in comparison (bad Sans)**

 **Storm has good hearing, remember. And the talking bit may have been Sans being a little paranoid and out of it, but Storm can also hear emotions well. As for being normal… well, he's not, let's just say that.**

 **Frisk isn't the only one with determination…**

 **Gaster ded:D**

 **River person would be… ice person? Frozen river person? Idk. Oh, I got it! Snow person! It can have a magical snowboard to transport people on. But no, the king isn't the river person.**

iluvfanficXD:So thattttss why sans didnt know about calibri when i asked him. XD (also the best anime guy for me is usui from maid sama. *nosebleed*)

 **Funny how all of my crushes are anime guys. BECAUSE REAL GUYS CAN NEVER MEASURE TO THE PERFECTION OF ANIME GUYS!**

FictionGirl11: Winter here sucks. Desert winters SUCK. I'm arizona there is no such thing as winter and here where I live we get the cold but no snow to go with it because we live in a rain shadow. (The mountains steal all our precipitation.) It's horrible. If you're gonna be cold you should be able to have fun in the cold. Not just be cold.

When I thought you'd actually killed off Storm I was like, "DANG! You is either very brave or very stupid to kill of the kitty this early on. I hope you got your Temmie armor you is gonna need it." And then the cat was fine and your safety was no longer in danger. If anything, now you're going to have a REALLY hard time getting rid of Storm. I feel like the pacing of this chapter was a little rushed compared to the others. Might just be the fight scene, those things are notoriously difficult to write in something that isn't already fast paced and then keep pacing. Imma go listen to that song, sounds interesting. Thanks for another chapter and avoid bad times!

 **Oh no** **that does have to suck. Why haven't we made fake-real snow yet! Stop spending money on a wall that's going to do absolutely nothing but cause more problems Trump, MAKE SNOW!**

 **Maybe if he made snow he wouldn't be so orange lol**

 **Yeah, I knew if I killed off Storm I'd be murdered. Very fast. You don't kill off Floofy kitten unless you're in a very highly armed military base.**

 **Maybe it is, I was trying to not make it drag on. Guess I did the job too well XD I hope this chapter is better in regards to that, but I doubt it since my brain has been mush.**

 **You really should, it's an amazing song. So much FEELZ. I think I wanna make a PV for it or something with Sans and Frisk. Depends.**

 **Stay safe and warm everyone, and don't get the sickies like me and Sansy (I literally decided if I was going to suffer a cold Sans was going to suffer with me lol)**

 **From the wolf in the mountains,**

 **Comycat~**


	28. Chapter 27- Determination

**I feel so bad for Frisk here. You'll see.**

 **But I kinda feel bad for Sans too. His little issue just got, like, ten times worse. Lol.**

 **AND I GOT A SHINY MIMIKYU! :D I was shiny chaining in Pokemon Moon for about five hours when I finally got one. I love it to bits.**

 **Trivia time, Litten and Mimikyu are Frisk's favorite Pokemon. I haven't really decided on one for Sans but I think it would either be Lycanroc, Houndoom or Marowak. Or just the strongest legendary considering he's a douche and uses full legend teams XD that's how I see him, anyways.**

 **Oh, quick suggestion. Go look at my Howlingtale Papyrus on DA before you read this. It's important you do so before reading. Maybe get yourself a bowl of spaghetti. Feel your love for the adorable cinnamon role skeleton.**

 **Feel it.**

 **Also I have a huge migraine so there may be more mistakes than usual. Well, maybe not considering this happens often, lol. I need to get on that :b**

* * *

Frisk stared up at the hotel, resort, or whatever the hell it was.

"So… what now?" She asked. Storm jumped off of her shoulder to explore.

"Now." Sans huffed. "We are going to rent a freakin room, eat and party till we die, then go party some more down in hell."

"What? Who said I was going to hell?" Frisk was tired, but… she was also hungry.

"Me. I'm dragging your tail down there whether you like it or not." Sans grinned, showing his sharp teeth.

"Well… maybe we should go get different clothes… considering these ones are all bloody and stuff."

"Naw, we can just go in naked." Sans chuckled.

Even Storm turned to look at Sans.

"What?! Hell no. No thank you." Frisk turned her head away. Sans leaned over her shoulder.

"Yeah, you're right. No one wants to see a nude skeleton. You may be able to get away with it though, being female."

" _Saaaaaans."_ Frisk pushed him away.

"Hey, its true. I'm sure you could get a free drink or two that way. Free stuff, amirite?"

"Thank god you aren't female, because god help us if you were."

"No, I'd have a lot of free stuff. Plus I'd have squeaky toys." Sans pointed at her chest.

Frisk crossed her arms.

"There are so many things wrong with you I don't know where to begin."

"Alright, alright. I just need to set up the shortcut, then we can zap back. I'm sure Paps is worried sick, seeing as the phone doesn't work in Blizzardland and he's probably heard about the crash by now."

Frisk jumped.

"Crap, I forgot! Poor Papyrus is probably through the roof worried about you! It would seem like you could be…" Frisk trailed off.

Sans shrugged, his magic activating. His eye turned a lighter blue, different from the cobalt blue. Maybe because he wasn't in aggressive mode?

"Naw, he'd be more worried 'bout you. I bet ya he'll nag me about not getting work done."

Frisk frowned.

"Sans, you know that's not true. You're his brother. You mean just as much to him as he means to you."

Sans summoned one of his giant skull beasts with a flick of his wrist. It startled Frisk a little.

"Whatever you say chupacabra. I just need to find the spot…" The skull started floating about.

Frisk watched it's every move, suddenly fascinated. It was moving on its own. Was it really a living creature.

Sans noticed her curiosity.

"That's a Gaster Blaster. His name is Mustard. He's my shortcut helper."

"You have more than one?" Frisk asked.

"Yeah. I've got Ketchup, Mustard, Garlic, Salt, Pepper, and Relish."

"Wow… creative names, Sans."

"I know. Who else would think of such awesome names?" Mustard stopped at a spot a little ways away, opening his mouth. A light blue fog drifted out of it.

"Yeah… sure buddy." Storm was sticking close to her, scared of the beast.

Sans walked up to it.

"Found it? Good." He held out his hands, and his eye flowed brighter.

Frisk had no idea in hell what he was doing.

She slowly walked over to him and the skull… Mustard. It's dull eye-lights turned to look at her.

 _So… it is like a… pet? I wonder…_

Frisk reached out to it with her hand.

It let out an ugly hissing sound, opening its mouth wide.

If Frisk could jump to the moon, she would have at that moment.

She did jump pretty far into the air, screeching. Mustard screeched in response.

"HEY!" Sans pointed his finger at Mustard in a chiding manner.

" _NO!_ Do not snap at Frisk! Be nice!"

Mustard closed his mouth and went docile, looking like he would almost whine.

Frisk was trying _not_ to have a heart attack.

 _Jesus hell damn that was so gosh darn stupid, That things mouth is bigger than me and it's fangs are half the size of me how stupid can I be-_

Sans turned to her.

"It's okay, you can pet him now."

"….no thanks." Frisk whimpered.

 _I am never, ever going near one of those things again…_

"Aw, c'mon. They can be really sweet once they get to know you! Look, I'm doing it and I'm a skeleton, I've got no guts. If you've got less guts than that, I dunno what to tell you." Sans put his hand on Mustard's muzzle and gave her his pun grin.

Frisk groaned internally. Ugh.

"No. I don't like it." Frisk deadpanned.

Mustard looked offended.

Sans turned to him.

"Look what you did! I hope you're happy! Go away." Sans turned his back to the creature. It scowled before fading in a puff of blue smoke.

Frisk exchanged a glance with Storm.

"So… are we going to go…?"

Sans snapped from his pouting.

He rubbed his nose hole, sniffing.

"Yeah. I think I'm gonna take some allergy meds when we get back too. You don't wanna know what being congested without an actual nose feels like." He held out his hand.

Frisk picked up Storm and grabbed it. Sans flinched for some reason, his eyes fixed on her hand in his. Frisk didn't notice the light tinge of blue on his cheekbones.

"Yeah, I can agree with that. Being sick sucks, I feel you."

"Y-yeah. Ready? Here we go."

The world spun.

Suddenly, they were in the living room of the skeletons house.

Papyrus dropped his tray of meatballs in shock.

The tall skeleton stared at them open mouthed for a few moments.

Frisk felt a little dizzy. The sudden warmth was a little much.

"Uh… hey, bro." Sans greeted.

"…SANS! HUMAN!"

Papyrus dashed forward without warning and squeezed them both until a tight hug. Frisk wheezed, and Storm screeched.

"THE GREAT PAPYRUS WAS WORRIED SICK I HEARD ABOUT THE TRAIN AND ALPHYS SAID YOU WERE THERE AND YOU DIDN'T ANSWER YOUR PHONES AND DIDN'T COME HOME AND I WAS SO SCARED! DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!" There were comical tears in the corner of his eye.

Frisk smiled warmly, feeling a little bead of sweat run down her forehead.

What a welcome.

"Sure, Papy." Frisk said.

"Yup. What she said." Sans glance over at her, completely chill. The most chill she had seen him In awhile, actually.

Must be routine for him or something.

Papyrus put them down, and his eyes fixed on the kitten.

"Oh, whose this?" He bent down.

Storm sniffed the bridge of his nose, blue eyes wide.

"This is Storm. I got him from Alphys."

Papyrus smiled with glee.

"What a cute little kitten! Hi Storm, you are gazing at the Great Papyrus, master chef and future Royal Guardsman!" Papyrus struck a pose.

Frisk laughed lightheartedly. It felt good to be around Papyrus after all the trauma of the past day. He had a certain magic of making days good.

Papyrus eyed them in closer detail. His eyes widened a little and his grin faded.

"You guys are… you're hurt!" He cried out.

"I'm fine, we got fixed up. Sans is sick, though." Frisk looked over at him. He shot her a look and sniffled.

"M'fine too."

Papyrus edged a little closer, worried.

"Are you sure?"

" _Yes."_ Both Sans and Frisk said at the same time.

Papyrus didn't look completely appeased, but he backed away for now.

"Oh alright. So, do you guys want to help me remake my wonderful meatballs that you so rudely made me drop?"

Oh no. Frisk couldn't say no to Papyrus, could she?

Sans came to her rescue.

"Sorry bro, we're gonna get ready and then go stay over at MTT. The past day has been… rather _ruff._ " Sans barked and looked directly at Storm in an attempt to scare him.

Storm stared back blankly.

Frisk lightly slapped his arm.

"Sans, stop being a bully!"

"Well, we gotta get the little snot a litter box so it doesn't crap in the house."

Papyrus's expression lit up.

"Worry not, human! I still have the box and litter from when I got a cat! Too bad she found somewhere else to live…" Papyrus ran upstairs, presumably to get said box.

Frisk glared at Sans, who shrugged.

"Sorry, I just walked in one day and saw a cat. Didn't like it. I didn't kill it, like I was joking about before. Well, if it didn't run fast enough I might have." Sans grinned and looked at Storm.

Storm was, again, unfazed.

 _You are either a very stupid or very brave kitten._ Frisk thought.

She shook her head, frowning at the skeleton.

"Imma go to the store and get something for lunch, and for Papyrus. To make him happy. I feel bad leaving him any more."

"Me too." Frisk agreed.

"But get yourself some tissues or something. I don't want any more sick skeleton goo on me."

Sans rolled his eye-lights.

"Yeah, yeah."

Sans walked to the coat rack and grabbed a different, gray coat. She had never seen him wear it, but she realized it was because it looked a bit too small. He shed his current blood soaked one and donned this new one, and, without doing anything else walked out the door.

 _Idiot. You still look like you've been in a fight._

Frisk put Storm down and scratched behind her ear.

 _I'm going to take a bath to get all this gunk off. I don't like being this dirty._

Storm sniffed the corner of the couch as Frisk went upstairs and alerted Papyrus before entering the bathroom.

…

At some point Undyne and Rocky had come over. Frisk didn't feel as comfortable taking a bath with them downstairs, but whatever.

But damn, did it feel good to calm down and relax. Frisk almost feel asleep. Why couldn't Blizzardland be bathland, or heatland or something? Well, maybe not too hot, but nice and warm.

 _Stupid stupid stupid cold magic. I hate you._ Frisk played with the lavender shampoo that somehow just showed up. The skeleton brothers had a lot of shampoos and soaps because they couldn't use them. They had accumulated over the years, apparently. Plus, the little white dog that showed up every now and again would dump them in or around the house.

 _That little white dog drops a lot of stuff off around here. I wonder why._ Frisk recalled Sans telling her how it dropped a literal 3DS. And it worked too.

Frisk played around with the bubbles, liking the soothing scent of lavender.

She was almost spared from the racket downstairs.

Undyne was apparently really into the current Mario Cart session (she had just gotten a Wii from the dump and brought it over)

The door opened and something was thrown. Undyne must have lost, or got really excited she won. She could hear Rocky bark once in alarm.

Frisk played with the rubber ducky that was always kept in the water, regardless of who went in. It was like the duck owned the tub. It was originally Papyrus's, but no one bothered to move him. Sans had drawn him a little mustache and monocle to go with his top hat. Classy duck.

There was talking, and lots of movement. Frisk felt a stab of annoyance. _Why can't I just take a bath in quiet? Did Satan fish sense that I was taking a bath and bolt it over here?_

Frisk threw the bar of soap into the water and watched it fall to the bottom. She wished she could be that bar of soap. She could escape the noise _and_ smell nice.

 _Well, maybe not. Then I would have to be rubbed all over naked bodies. Ew._ Frisk shuddered.

Suddenly she felt a lot more sympathetic towards soap.

There was someone outside.

There was more talking, but there was still soap in Frisk's ears and she couldn't hear.

She quickly dipped her head under the water to get the soap off.

As she lifted her head back up, two undesirable things happened.

One, she got a bubble up her nose.

Two, _the door freaking opened._

"SANS, NO, THE HUMAN IS IN THERE!"

Too late.

If Sans had blood, it would probably be draining from his face right about now.

Frisk didn't react at first. She didn't know how to react. Sans was probably in the same predicament.

They just… stared at each other.

Frisk could feel the heat rise in her face.

…

Sans's eyes were wide.

"…oh. Um… hi?"

Finally, Frisk reacted.

"WHAT THE HELL!? GET OUT!" Frisk grabbed the nearest bottle of whatever and chucked it at the skeleton as hard as she could.

Sans yelped and got out of there pretty fast after that.

He must have been in a pretty big hurry, because a second later she could hear him falling down the stairs.

Undyne burst into howling laughter downstairs.

Frisk was panting. Her face was on _fire._

 _The god damn skeleton waltzed on in here and just STARED! Like, at least get out, not stare! What the hell is wrong with that pervert?!_

Frisk decided her bath was done and got out and dressed.

She came stomping down the stairs a few minutes later, her tail still dripping wet.

Undyne was rolling on the floor, laughing her ass off. Rocky was laughing as well, though she could see he was trying hard to hide it. Papyrus was scolding Sans.

The second he saw her he backed away against the wall.

Undyne's laughing intensifies.

" _Holy shit you should see your face, human… hooooolllyyy sheit! You had better run Sansy, she's gonna chew your bones!"_

Papyrus turned to the fish.

"UNDYNE! Language! And the human has just been through a traumatic experience, be more respectful!"

Frisk flicked her ear.

 _Thank you Papyrus._

She glared at Sans so hard it had to leave some sort of mark.

His cheeks were deep blue and sweat ran down his skull. Frisk had never seen him so scared and it gave her cruel satisfaction.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were in there! Honest!" Sans put his hands up and smiled nervously.

Frisk growled.

"Yeah right, pervert."

"If I buy you a coffee will you feel better?"

Frisk couldn't believe this.

 _A coffee. Will not. Heal what has been damaged._

"A COFFEE WILL NOT FIX MY MENTAL SCAR!"

"H-hey, I'm just as mentally scarred as you!"

"Ex-CUSE Me?!" Frisk was ten times more pissed.

 _I may not be a freakin model, but I am not that ugly! Especially to bring up in this situation!_

Sans flinched.

"Whoops, you fucked up now, bro. You do not know how to handle girls, do you." Undyne sat up, still heaving.

"… I guess not." Sans looked around the room as if looking for an escape.

Storm was sitting on the corner of the couch, watching the action. He looked like he could be eating popcorn right now.

"Hey, I think you would be very lucky to… umm… get that… chance. To see such a pretty… never mind." Rocky looked away.

Frisk turned to him.

"No. But thank you."

Sans threw his arms out.

"Why aren't you mad at him!"

"Because _HE didn't b_ arge into the bathroom while I was taking a bath! Speaking of which… did you see anything?"

Sans made a small sound in his throat and looked away.

Frisk huffed.

 _Why me why me why me why me why me why me?_

"You are. Never. To talk about. Boobs being squeaky toys again. You hear me?"

"… yeah."

Frisk pushed air through her nose.

"And you are still getting me a coffee. A good coffee, too."

"Well, can't be MTT. They're only taking reservations for rooms at the moment due to some issue. Most of their stores are closed. But in a week they will open back up and they're having an opening party, I signed us up."

Frisk crossed her arms.

"You didn't ask me."

"… did I really need to ask?"

"I don't know. I know nothing about this party. I am not as irresponsible as you."

Storm mewed, as if in agreement.

"The cat agrees, lol." Undyne said.

"Awwww, such a cute kitty!" Rocky cooed.

"The human has such a smart kitty!" Papyrus

Sans scowled at all the attention the little kitten was receiving. Frisk shot him a glare to show him his current place.

 _The kitten doesn't intrude upon my bath. The kitten isn't a pervert._

"Well, Sans, I need to head to the store!" Papyrus announced.

Sans looked over at him. "Huh? I was just there. You could have told me what you wanted."

"I didn't know that Undyne and Rocky were coming over! And we decided to have a big sleepover! We need lots of food for our guests!"

"I was never consulted." Sans muttered. Frisk was a little nervous to be sleeping in the same house as Undyne.

 _What if she finds me in my sleep and gives me a noogie. I don't want any unaware noogies. Or she will draw a penis on my face with permanent marker like Sans told me she did to him one time._ Frisk shuddered as her mind went over all the dark things Undyne could do to her in her sleep.

Papyrus didn't notice his brother's reaction to the news and slipped into his over-sized boots.

"I will be right back! Then we can all make the best meatballs ever!" Papyrus ran out the door and slammed it shut behind him.

Undyne jumped into the air and plopped on the couch, taking the controller into her hand. Frisk now saw what had been thrown. Undyne had thrown Sans's joke book into the wall by the door. Possibly, at Sans. Rocky sat down on the floor and too, up his controller.

"Hey, you guys wanna play? I wanna kick more ass!" Undyne turned to them.

Rocky followed her gaze, then looked away sheepishly.

 _He's still not over his… crush._ Frisk noted. She felt another stab of guilt.

"No thanks. I want coffee." She looked over at Sans.

He rubbed the back of his skull.

"Um, maybe if you actually ask."

"I don't need to ask. Get me a coffee, pervert."

Sans's eyes narrowed.

"You have been getting really ballsy lately, Snap pea. That should be fixed."

Suddenly, Frisk was lurched into the air.

Sans had grabbed her soul with blue magic and flipped her upside down.

Frisk's hair hung limply and she dangled in the air. Her heart sped up as she gasped.

 _How dare he? He's gonna give me a heart attack!_

Frisk decided not to show her fear and stick her tongue out at him instead.

Sans waggled his finger.

"Tsk tsk. Nope."

He started moving his hand around in a circle. Frisk felt herself move with it.

He was spinning her in circles like a game of spin-the-bottle.

The room turned into a blur as the world spun around again and again. Frisk yelped, unable to keep her senses.

Then, the spinning stopped and she was put down.

The room still lurched around her, and she staggered a little, winded. At leas

"Not… cool… Sans."

Undyne was grunting while slamming her fingers into the buttons, while Rocky's tail wagged.

"Alright, let's go."

"You jerk!"

 _He got over… that so quickly? That's so mean, I deserve respect after that!_ Frisk was not happy.

Sans chuckled.

Frisk grabbed Storm before following Sans out the door. She was still dizzy and ended up running into the door frame on the way out. Sans burst out laughing until she shot a glare at him to shut up.

"The Nice Cocoa guy is out over near the entrance to Waterfall." Sans said. Storm jumped out of her arms and walked beside her.

"I'm guessing we can go to the store and track down Papyrus. He may need help, knowing how he is when it comes to sleepovers." Sans's voice had an edge of annoyance.

"You don't like big sleepovers, huh?" Frisk asked.

"Eh, just not right now. I'm sick, I'm tired."

"You're on your man period." Frisk joked.

Sans went to nudge her with his shoulder, then pulled away awkwardly.

Welp, guess he wasn't over it?

"Shaddup."

"Well, I sort of want to go find Papyrus. I want to look at cat stuff for Storm." Frisk said.

They came close to the Save star under the pine tree. Frisk hadn't given any of the Stars much attention, always touching them but never thinking about them. There weren't any she could see in Blizzardland. She learned her lesson about the Resets though, and hadn't been actively seeking them out.

To her surprise, Storm padded up to it and sniffed it. Like he could see it.

Frisk stopped beside it.

Sans looked back at her.

"Ugh, what's the little gremlin doing now? Making yellow snow?"

"No. He's… it's almost like he can see it." Frisk muttered. Storm went on his hind legs and batted the star playfully. His paw made contact.

Frisk blinked.

"Hey, Sans. Put your hand there." Frisk pointed to the Star.

"O…Kay?" Sans obeyed. His hand went right through the Star.

 _Storm can touch it… and see it._

"What's this about? And why is the cat doing that?" Sans looked extremely confused. There was also a look in his eye that said "I'm too tired to deal with this."

"Sans, there's a Save Star there. And it's like Storm can interact with it." Frisk picked him up, touching the star as she did so to show Sans.

Sans's eyes widened with surprise.

"Oh. Welp. Maybe animals can see them? I dunno."

Frisk glanced down at Storm. He reached up and put his paws on her nose.

So cute.

Frisk smiled and shook him off.

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

"Well, if you wanna go find Papyrus go ahead. I'll get the Coffee. If he doesn't have any stocked right now, Hot Cocoa?"

"You'd better come back with a coffee or I will eat your femur."

"Okay, okay. Chill, it shouldn't be that hard considering we're in snow."

Frisk scowled.

"Go."

Before he could reply, she stomped up the path to the store.

Storm put his paws on her shoulder at watched as Sans disappeared from sight.

She could see the footprints from Papyrus clear as rain. He had such big boots, probably to help with walking through the snow.

The footsteps followed the path for a few minutes , until, without warning, veered off into the coniferous forest.

Frisk blinked.

 _He knows his way. Why did he go over here?_

Frisk felt an unexplainable pang of dread.

Why did she feel like something bad happened.

Frisk pushed the feeling away.

 _No, too much has happened. I'm just paranoid… I hope._

Frisk followed the tracks.

They seemed to follow a straight line burrowed into the snow. Was he just following the line, or did something make the line?

They snaked around the trees, going further… they crossed over a patch of smooth rocks and went through some rugged undergrowth.

They led to a clearing that opened up on a cliff.

A flash of white met her.

Frisk yelped as the bullet grazed her arm. She had jumped to the side just in time. She felt Storm puff up in fear.

" _Oh, why hello~!"_

 _Flowey._

The blue flower was across the clearing, deep green vines snaking through the snow.

Frisk followed them.

"H-human!"

That damn flower.

Papyrus was wrapped in thick vines, and they held him down. Frisk snarled at the flower, rage filling her.

 _We meet again. Oh, how I've wanted to pull that stupid face from that stem._

"Let. Papyrus. Go."

Flowey laughed, his voice getting lower. His petals twitched.

"How very demanding. It seems you've grown some balls since the last time we chatted! But I already knew that. I've been following you, watching you. You really are an idiot!"

Frisk bared her teeth.

"And so are you. If you're been… stalking me you know I am not afraid to fight you. I don't know what your deal is with me, but it has nothing to do with Papyrus. So let him go!"

"F-Flowey, this isn't very nice! What did we talk about?" Papyrus scolded the Flower, though she could tell he was terrified.

 _No. One. Messed with Papyrus._

Flowey smiled sadistically. Frisk looked into his eyes, and she could see just how soulless he really was.

"Heh, how noble. _How stupid._ Make me, little wolf!"

A line of white bullets materialized in the air. Frisk threw herself into the snow to avoid them.

Some flew down at her. Storm ran the opposite direction as she tried to roll over.

One hit her in the leg, sending a sharp pain up her body.

Frisk squeezed her eyes shut and _howled._

 _I need to get Sans, I need help. He's got Papyrus, and he might hurt him before I can do anything. Sans, please hear this…_

Flowey chuckled darkly.

"What was that, a cry for help? Well, it doesn't matter. Your trash bag friend can't help you in this situation. You see, I don't want to kill you. Yet. I'm after something… bigger. And I need some… DETERMINATION, to help me." Flowey's voice was sickly sweet.

Frisk stood up. Storm hissed from where he stood, right in front of a gnarled trunk of an old spruce tree.

Frisk stared at the evil creature, brow furrowing.

"What… do you… mean? What do you want?!"

Flowey grinned.

"Oh, you will see. **You will see.** " His voice dropped a few octaves at the last part.

Frisk felt a chill crawl up her spine.

"Flowey, please stop." Papyrus pleaded.

"Paps! Are you okay?" Frisk turned to him. Tears were in his eyes, and sweat dripped from his skull.

The vines looked so tight…

Frisk's ears pricked.

She could hear footsteps crunching through the snow.

Flowey didn't look bothered at all.

"Look who's here. Snarly trash bag."

Sans burst into the clearing, panting.

"Frisk! I heard… oh god, Papyrus!" Sans's eyes went dark at the sight of his brother.

He started shaking.

"What… _you. Weed."_ Sans turned to Flowey.

"To my displeasure, I seem to meet you again. Whatever. Only a minor setback." Flowey glared at Sans.

" _You. I… I remember you… I don't have any memories, but this feeling… it's you, it's it?"_ Sans snarled.

Flowey shook his head.

"That's a question for… another day. Or let's say, another time? Because-" Flowey's face went dark.

" _I've got work to do."_

Papyrus cried out in pain.

The vines were tightening.

"Stop!" Frisk ran towards Papyrus, fear hitting her hard.

Something tugged her to the ground, and the next second a large vine was wrapped around her body, squeezing. She felt thorns dig into her skin and tried to cry out, but all she could manage was a strangled gasp.

"Frisk, Paps! Hold on!"

Frisk heard the sound of his bones being summoned.

Flowey grunted and retreated quickly into the snow, reappearing a few feet away.

There was a flash of green, and Sans was thrown into the tree where Storm was standing. The kitten cried out and ran behind the tree, shaking in fear.

"S… An…s…" Frisk couldn't breathe.

 _Is this it? He knows I can come back, or… does he intend on killing me till I don't?_

"Too late." Flowey sneered.

There was a loud, _bone_ chilling crack in front of her.

Frisk opened her mouth, but no sound came.

Papyrus faded to a pile of dust, the vines crushing his body completely.

 _No… no…_

It felt like a bad dream. A horrible dream.

 _He just killed Pap… Papyrus._

She heard Sans make a sound, but couldn't see him. She couldn't turn her head. Flowey was looking at him.

"Oh, look. Whoops. Didn't realize how… fragile bones could be, hehe~. Now, what will you do now? I'll see you… later, hahah!"

Flowey dipped into the ground, his vines going with him.

Frisk took in a ragged gasp of air as the vines let her go.

She coughed for a few moments, shaking. Her head was light.

So was her body.

She just couldn't… couldn't process…

He was _dead._

Frisk looked up again, expecting to see a smiling face and wide, happy eye sockets.

But no.

All there was was a pile of dust.

He was gone.

Frisk heard a tiny sob behind her.

 _Oh no…_

Sans had his skull in his hands, his body quaking. She could hear his bones rattling.

"Oh no… no, no no, Papyrus, no…"

Frisk's throat closed up and she let out a whine, tears pouring from her eyes.

 _I don't… Why Papyrus? Why… why someone so…_

Frisk heard the sound of magic.

Storm meowed loudly in fear.

"Sans, what… Sans, no!" Frisk rushed over to him.

He had a sharp bone in his hand, aimed at his chest. His soul was out.

She grabbed his hand as fast as she could, pulling back as hard as she could. Her head was _screaming_ , as was her heart.

 _No. Not him. Not Sans too._

" _Frisk… let, go, please… you don't understand, you don't…"_

He pulled against her grasp. Frisk grabbed the bone as well.

"Sans, stop, you can't j-"

"You don't understand!" He snapped. Tears streamed out of his eye as well as purple magic.

" _He… I can't live without him! He was the only… the only thing that kept me alive. He was the reason I kept on going. To hear him tell me to shut up after making a pun, to hear him go on about his dreams, to nag me about leaving my socks around… Frisk, I can't… you don't…"_ he broke. He was broken.

Frisk had stopped shaking.

 _Sans…_

"Sans, please… I know… I know, Sans…"

She felt an odd fire in her chest. A Fire she hadn't felt in awhile.

He wasn't dead.

 _I'm not letting him die. I'm not letting them die._

"He's not dead. Your not going to die."

" _F-frisk…"_ Sans sobbed.

She pulled the bone away and flung it into the snow.

"The only one dying is me."

Sans froze.

"W-what?"

"You heard me." Frisk felt oddly calm.

She knew what she had to do.

Sans's head shot up.

"No, no! Not you too! N-"

"Sans, listen." She put her hand on his arm, looking into his eye sockets. He looked so scared.

"It isn't over. I'm an anomaly, remember? I can Reset."

"R-reset? Wait, you said you can't reset by force!"

Frisk shook her head.

"No. I can't." She stood up.

She eyed the cliff.

"But I don't have to force it."

Sans shot up and grabbed her shoulders.

"Frisk, I said no! You aren't like me! You haven't done the things I did! You know that you might not come back! I can't lose two of you!"

Frisk felt a stab in her heart.

 _Two of us?_

"I care about you too, almost as much as I do Papyrus. Please, Frisk…"

Frisk blinked.

"I've made up my mind. If you do care, let go. I promise I'll come back, alright?"

Sans didn't let go at first. She could feel him trembling.

Then, he pulled her into a hug. Frisk didn't react.

She closed her eyes.

 _I'm not letting this happen. I'm sorry, Sans._

"You'd better come the fuck back, alright?" He whispered.

"Yeah."

She pulled him off of her.

His eye was glowing a bright purple.

Storm meowed.

Frisk walked towards the cliff.

She felt a final shiver of fear.

But her Determination swallowed it hole.

 _They aren't dead._

Frisk looked down. The wind blew precariously.

She closed her eyes.

 _Don't be afraid… It will be just like Sans's blue magic. Just like the blue magic._

She felt a lurch in her stomach as her body fell.

She felt a final blast of pain as her body slammed into the rocks before everything went black.

* * *

 **I am a douche.**

 **A real douche.**

 **You all hate me, don't you? XD**

 **I did have fun with this chapter, though. Especially the bath part.**

 **What's Flowey up too? Next time we find out.**

 **Oh Frisk. Poor, poor Frisk.**

 **She isn't the only human anymore.**

 **I can't do reviews today, because I don't have time while standing outside of the café in the snow. I will try to update this tomorrow with the reviews, or maybe do them next chapter. Sorry about that!**

 **From the wolf in the mountains,**

 **Comycat.**


	29. Chapter 28- Chara

**I made a little one-shot that is an AU of later events. It's called But Nobody Came. Overused title, probably, but you will understand it while crying crocodile tears. Instead of a Christmas one-shot I make something really depressing. I am messed up.**

 **Next year Expect internet prices to go up. And in a few years, all prices. Because the government in US is fucking corrupt as all hell. My generation was already screwed. Now my family is screwed. And the Trump dogs don't care. They care about themselves and the little bit of money they will save for a few years before that money just gets spent on everything else. It only benefits the 1% of moneymakers. Everyone else, including the young and old generation are severely hurt by this.**

 **Proves who the government is really for, right?**

 **Sorry bout that. It bothers me so much. I'm scared I may not be able to go to Fanfiction, or it may get taken down by one of the ISP's. Comcast is the worst. If any of you have a choice do not buy any of Comcast, AT &T and Verizon.**

 **Anyways, relevant to the story. The Christmas one shot is delayed. At best. It's just not coming out that well. I had a mistletoe scene planned (because, ships) but everything else is forced and utter garbage. It may not come out at all. I would probably post a little snitbit of what I have or just write the one scene I wanted to do and post it as a mini-one shot. Idk.**

 **I've been on such a demotivational slump lately :/**

* * *

Frisk found herself in the void again. She was oddly calm.

She felt the fire in her chest, burning. She felt it spread, giving her a calm yet hot anger, something lethal and powerful.

Determination.

She reached for her Save.

She woke up by the star on the path to Waterfall. A little time seemed to have passed or something, or maybe she traveled too far back. Sans wasn't around and neither was Storm.

Frisk didn't waste time as she sprung to her feet and started running.

She followed the path from before, snow creeping into her shoe. She didn't notice.

The tracks did not go off the path this time.

 _Good. I'll get there before Papyrus does!_

She felt a little twinge through her Determination thinking about the differences. Did she mess up time? Was Sans still fighting Flowey?

Everything around her went ignored as she dashed through the forest, jumping over rocks and logs and snowbanks.

When she burst into the clearing, she was alone.

Frisk looked around, panting. Her breath was visible in the cold air as her chest heaved.

 _Did I get here before them? It looks like it._

Frisk felt a growl in her throat.

"Howdy! Golly, you sure are stupid!"

Frisk snapped to face the flower.

He was smiling widely.

She didn't like that look.

"You just did exactly what I wanted! Well, I guess it's more my genius than your stupid, or maybe a combination of the two."

Frisk scowled.

"What?"

Flowey's face went dark.

"I _wanted_ you to reset. Because, you see, that takes Determination. Every time you load a Save, that creates more Determination. I've been following you and collecting the Determination. For a little… surprise of mine."

It took Frisk a moment to process the information.

 _Dammit. Whatever._

Her eyes glittered.

"I don't care. You aren't killing Papyrus. Or anyone."

"Gee, you don't understand the situation you are in right now, do you? Oh, how ironic. Well, you will shortly realize your mistake."

A vine erupted from the ground. In it was a red orb.

Frisk glared at him.

 _What is he doing?_

"This collects Determination. Now. Chara. Time for you to return."

Flowey summoned a tiny, floating black shard.

Flowey let out a sadistic laugh as he threw the container to the ground. The glass shattered.

Frisk covered her eyes and gritted her teeth as intense light flashed through the clearing.

Next there was a heavy slam that shook the ground.

Then deep, echoing growls followed by a bubbling sound and the sound of something shifting.

Frisk opened her eyes.

In front of her was a true _nightmare_.

It was huge. It's body was made of deep brown/ black fur and flesh that seemed to be melting. Parts of it were completely rotted away, revealing twisted bone. It looked like it used to be a wolf, but it was far too malformed to tell. Its right side was more melted than its left, with its right leg completely exposed. Black fluid bubbled around its spine, revealing the bone. It snarled, red eyes overflowing with more black fluid. The right side of its mouth was fused together from the melting. Twigs and sticks and vines stuck out from its body in various places, It sent a stream of fog into the air from its mouth and the holes in its body.

Frisk stared up at the beat open mouthed.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

It was so grotesque it seemed unreal. Her stomach churned.

Some voice echoed through the clearing, but it was garbled beyond understanding.

Flowey had moved away a few feet.

He was smiling at the beast.

Frisk felt her legs shake. It felt like this beast was sucking her Determination just by looking at her.

"Welcome back, Chara." Flowey said.

The beast didn't respond.

"I'm sorry I didn't… get a better, more suitable body. But it's only temporary. Because…" Flowey's gaze shifted to her.

"We've got one right here for the taking. With her gone, we can rule this world and do everything we dreamed of, right Chara?"

Frisk took a step back.

Oh _god._

 _How do I fight this?!_

The sound of Papyrus's bones cracking filled her head. The image of Sans's wide, broken eyes.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

 _No. I can't back down. I'm scared but… I can't back down. Sans said its okay to be scared. I can be scared, I just can't back down._

"Hehe… Chara? What are you doing?" Flowey's voice sounded suddenly scared.

Frisk opened her eyes.

Chara, as Flowey had called it, was staring directly at the little flower, snarling. Black saliva dripped from its mouth.

"…. You remember me, right? It's your best friend… Chara?"

The creature roared, making the trees shake.

Flowey's face morphed into complete dread.

"You… you're not… Chara. You're not…" Flowey cowered against the ground.

The creature took a step towards the Flower.

"I… I don't like this anymore. G-go back!"

 _Did he… expect to control it?_ Frisk wondered.

The melted beast snapped and swiped a huge paw at the flower, intending to rip him apart with jagged claws.

However, Flowey disappeared into the ground and did not reappear again.

 _Did he run?_ Frisk felt a stab of anger. _He is just as cowardly as I am! Hypocrite!_

Chara- maybe not- turned its head to her.

 _Oh no._

Frisk took another step back.

She couldn't fight it. She didn't even have a weapon.

 _I never asked Sans what he did with my knife!_

 _ **Finally… finally…**_

The voice echoed again, and this time she could make out words.

 _ **Fresh meat… meat… prey…**_

 _ **KILL.**_

Uh oh.

RUN.

Frisk ran as it lunged forward, crashing into the snow. She ran back into the forest, her legs moving faster than they had ever moved in her life.

She could hear trees crashing and snapping behind her as the beast followed. The ground shook.

Frisk's heart felt like it was trying to escape her chest, slamming against her rib cage.

The forest died off as they came to the river.

Frisk skidded to a stop by its bank, eyeing a long stick.

Without a second thought, she picked it up and turned to face the creature. It's facewassoclose!

She stabbed at its eye. It came to a sudden stop and jumped back as the stick sunk into its eye, pulling the stick from her grasp.. It was an odd feeling, like stabbing a piece of plastic wrap with a toothpick.

It howled, black blood gushing from the wound. The stick stuck out of it. The creature stomped the ground with its huge feet.

 _ **You. YOU. KILL!**_

It shook its head, sending droplets of black across the snow.

Frisk got her cue and started running again.

She forgot she was right in front of a river and ran out onto the ice, her feet slipping from under her. She fell, sliding a short distance away.

The beast leaped and slammed its foot right onto Frisk, and if she were on solid ground she would have been smushed.

But she wasn't. She was on ice.

The ice smashed under the weight, Frisk gasping as her body was forced through. She didn't have time to cry out from the pain. The water was _cold._

She froze up for a moment as she was pulled by the current. There were large, echoing cracks as the creature thrashed, going into the water.

Frisk was hit away by one of its paws, being pushed farther down.

Frisk snapped out of her daze and started kicking. She didn't know what was right or left or up or down. She just tried to _swim._

She eventually realized she was swimming down and turned around, swimming up towards the light.

She fought the current as she burst out onto the surface, coughing up cold river water. The beast was struggling in the water, and Frisk wondered how deep the river was here. Could it go all the way under?

Frisk bumped into a large chunk of ice and grabbed onto it, using all her strength to haul herself up. The air bit into her wet body, making her teeth chatter.

 _Dammit, this again. Why do I have to fall into this river more than once?!_

It seemed the creature could swim. It didn't really have to swim far to the side before it could come up onto land. The river had deep black liquid in it now, swirling through the ripples.

The creature glared and her and snarled, shaking its head. The stick was out and its eye was closed, black seeping through the lid.

Frisk got to her feet, her legs shaking. She was so cold, but she couldn't rest now.

 _Maybe I can go for its other eye some now… damn, I'm so scared…. But I can't…_

 _I can't lose Determination._

The beast roared and leaped after her, legs stretched out and claws ready to tear her apart.

Frisk cursed and leaped to the next ice chunk, nearly falling off as the beast's Impact with the water sent the chunk spinning away.

It got back out of the water again, looking even more infuriated. Its flesh convulsed.

Frisk bared her teeth, trying to stop her tail from inching between her legs.

She had fought before. She could fight now.

The creature dropped into a crouch, ready to leap again.

Suddenly it was hit with countless bones, and it made a hideous screech.

Frisk blinked, nearly falling over.

 _H-huh? Sans!_

She turned to the bank.

He was there, eye glowing. Storm cowered a safe distance behind.

He turned to look at her. He looked disturbed… not that she would blame him.

"Frisk! What in the almighty hell is that thing! It looks like…" he stopped, saying something under his breath.

"I don't know! Flowey summoned it!" Frisk replied. He could remember timelines.

He growled, and she leaped onto the bank and hurried towards him.

 _We have a better chance now… right?_

The creature turned and pulled a bone from its flank with its teeth.

"It's melting, almost like something called an Amalgamate. Did Flowey inject something with Determination?"

"No… he used mine to… summon it. He expected it to know him… Chara, I think he called it."

Sans stiffened a little.

"He… used yours? How? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. He used the Determination from the Reset. He wanted me to Reset." She felt her eyes burn with anger.

Sans's eye changed color. A soft green, with a tinge of pink in the corner.

"Frisk… thank you for coming back. You scared me. A lot."

Frisk looked back at the creature. It seemed to give up pulling the bones out and glared at them.

"We can't talk sappy right now. Unless you want to while being eaten by that thing."

Sans huffed.

"Oh, fine. But later… I want to talk."

"Figures."

"No! About… well, never mind."

The beast flicked dark saliva from its muzzle and glared them down. It was almost like its red eye held the deepest hell.

The darkest nightmare.

Something about that eye made Frisk's soul run cold. She shuddered and shook herself.

Sans nudged her shoulder.

"Here."

She looked at his arm.

It was… her knife?

"Huh? Why… did you keep that from me?" She looked up at him.

"I meant to give it back, I just forgot to… initiate the conversation. But I was at first. But then I honestly forgot."

Frisk glared at him and took it.

"About time. We really are having a talk later. About how you deny me a weapon when I'm fighting a giant mutated wolf."

"How am I supposed to know it was going to show up!"

"Well, it was either that or a mutated Flower." Frisk felt a sliver of hurt. He didn't trust her with this, did he?

"You said we'd talk later!"

Frisk was about to open her mouth to reply, but a crash cut her off.

"Shit, move!" Sans shoved her down.

The world was a flash of shadow as the grotesque wolf jumped over them, crashing to the ground a little ways away.

Frisk scrambled to her feet.

"Thanks."

"We shouldn't argue in front of a giant Amalgamated wolf." The flames in his eye burst.

"Agreed."

It circled to the other side, blocking off the river.

 _It doesn't want us to run that way._

Sans's eye returned to its flaming blue.

He summoned his Gaster Blaster. Frisk vaguely wondered which one it was.

At the sight of the beast the Blaster snarled, opening its mouth. It's eye turned purple.

 _Is it… scared?_

The beast jumped for them again, and the Blaster fired blue. But in a surprising act of agility, the beast swerved to the side and took the Blaster in its jaws. It crunched down, and the Blaster disappeared in a burst of blue smoke.

"Shit!" Sans cursed.

Frisk ran to the side as the wolf rushed forward, paws making the ground shake.

It snapped the air where they had been standing a few seconds ago.

Sans had also dodged to the side, albeit the opposite side.

It's gaze followed him and it hit him with its paw, sending him flying into a tree nearby. Sans wheezed as he hit it, the tree cracking behind him as he slumped to the ground.

Frisk's heart skipped a beat.

"Sans!"

She felt a rush of Determination and ran at the creature as its back was turned to her. She jumped up its leg and crawled onto its back, sinking her dagger in right beside its spine. The black liquid erupted like a fountain, spraying her arm.

The wolf howled in pain and jumped, writhing its body in an attempt to dislodge her. Frisk felt the world spin and turn as she pulled the blade out and pushed it back in, holding on for dear life.

Suddenly, everything turned upside down.

It had rolled over, and Frisk felt her body being crushed.

The knife sunk out of its flesh, and she fell to the ground beneath it, feeling like her body was breaking.

Its weight got off of her quickly as it rolled back up, and Frisk felt a jarring pain in her torso. She gasped, taking in air.

She'd be surprised if something wasn't broken.

She couldn't move as it looked down at her, jaws opening.

Before it could swallow her, a bone stabbed its nose. It jumped back, rubbing it with its paw.

Sans was beside her in an instant.

"Are you okay!?" His flaming eye scanned her top to bottom.

Frisk grunted and sat up slowly.

"I think so…"

Sans eye went up to the wolf, burning.

"You wanna have a bad time?"

There was a sharp sound, and four Gaster Blasters materialized in front of them.

The beast stared them down, jaw twitching.

"Cause it's time you get _dunked._ "

The Blasters opened their mouths and _fired._

Bones rained down from behind them, some blue and some normal white.

Frisk flinched as all the attacks hit home, causing the snow to go flying.

There was a high pitched scream and the wolf jumped out of the flurry, looking torn up. Even more of its flesh was missing now.

The attacks followed it as it ran across the clearing.

 _So… many…_ Frisk thought, watching in awe. So many _attacks._

It's eyes fixed on them and it started bolting towards them, bones protruding from its torn body.

 _Crap, move!_

Frisk tried to get to her feet as fast as she could, tripping into the snow as she did so.

 _No!_

"Goddamnit, Fr-AUGH!"

Sans jumped in front of her as the creature slashed with its claw.

More bones and blasts drove it away as Sans fell to his knees, panting.

Frisk scrambled over to him.

"Sans! Sans?"

It's claw had scoured a deep gash across his rib cage. His shirt and jacket were already bloody.

He coughed a little, shoulders going up and down unevenly.

"M… fine… just a scratch."

She shook his shoulder.

"Sans! It's not just a scratch, you idiot! You should've just…" Frisk took a shaking breath.

No. She couldn't do this now.

Sans stared at her as she grabbed her dagger from the snow and stood up.

Sans's attacks had ceased, and she could see sweat on his skull. That immense flurry of attacks must have cost him dearly.

He stood up beside her, wobbling.

He grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait, I got an idea. We can't fight it head on. I'm almost out of magic."

Frisk's eyes shifted between the beast and him.

"I have a shortcut a little bit away. If we can get there I can zap all of us to somewhere it will fall… and die."

"How do you expect to zap _that!"_

Sans shrugged.

"I dunno. But it's all we've got, and you know that."

Frisk let out a worried sigh.

He was right. He was out of juice and this thing was not a normal animal.

It was a _demon._

Frisk nodded.

"Fine. How do we get it there?"

"Well… run!"

Sans grabbed her arm and pulled her, turning around and running. The wolf let out a raged bark and started pounding towards them.

Frisk's heart sped up again.

 _We need to keep it on us. We need…_

Sans was struggling, she could tell. And her chest hurt bad. But they kept going. The wolf rammed through trees behind her, sending them crashing to the ground.

They burst into the clearing before Waterfall.

"We're here! We need-"

Sans didn't have time to talk as the beast burst out right behind them.

Sans stumbled while trying to move, his wounds getting the best of him.

Frisk snarled at the beast and slashed at its nose with her knife.

It shook its head as the blade scratched its nose and snapped, nearly cutting Frisk in two.

She heard Sans cry out in fear behind her.

Frisk jumped onto its muzzle, slamming her knife into its forehead and jerking down. Black Blood sprayed from the wound and the wolf threw its head up, howling.

Frisk cried out as she was thrown up far, still holding her knife as if came out of the wolf.

She felt weightless for a moment before crashing into the ground hard.

Then she was sent smashing into the rocky wall of the cave entrance.

She screeched, blood coming up her throat.

The world was blurry now, and black spots danced in her vision as she fell to the ground. She couldn't breathe for a few seconds, completely winded and nearly passing out.

"Frisk!"

She felt his hand on her shoulder. Shaking her.

She groaned in response.

Then there was a roar, dangerously close. She could feel the hot breath from the creature.

Frisk's head shot up.

 _Oh no!_

She saw huge teeth, ready to swallow her whole.

Then, the world lurched.

She lost all matter for a moment, like they always did when traveling through his shortcuts.

The next second, they were falling.

Electricity danced in various spots as the scent of ozone drifted through the air. Sans grabbed the edge of the pathway- made of metal- with one hand and held onto her with the other.

The wolf howled and grabbed the edge a few feet away, claws scraping on the metal.

Frisk whimpered and grabbed his arm, her body protesting.

 _Where did he take us?!_

Frisk glanced below.

It was dark, with occasional flashes of light.

"I-it's the Core! Whatever you do, don't fall!" Sans yelled.

She wasn't doing any of that anytime soon.

Frisk clutched to Sans for dear life. She hated not feeling ground under her feet.

Suddenly, Sans cried out above her as they were pulled from the ledge.

The wolf had shimmied over and grabbed the edge of Sans's jacket in its jaws.

 _ **I WON'T BE ERASED!**_

It threw them in the air above its head.

Frisk screamed, seeing it open its mouth to swallow them.

Sans yelled and summoned a Blaster. It hit the beast in the face, and it screeched as it lost grip and started to fall.

Frisk felt frozen with fear as she followed.

 _No! We're going to-_

Sans wrapped his hand around her waist. The world wobbled as they went through his shortcut in space.

The last thing she saw before black was the beast hitting the darkness, crying out as it flashed yellow and was vaporized by the Core's electricity.

Her stomach dropped as they teleported, and then she felt a familiar cold as they plopped to the ground.

The cold stung, and the fall sent fresh waves of pain through her body. Frisk stayed motionless, trying to catch her breath.

They made it.

They were alive.

She could hear Sans panting next to her. Then the shuffle of fabric and the crunch of snow.

She felt his hand timidly on her shoulder.

"Cm'ere. You're still soaked. You're gonna get hypothermia like that."

Frisk didn't fight- or do anything for that matter- as he picked her up and held her close to his body. He felt so warm, and she could feel heat radiating off his body in comparison to her cold one. She snuggled closer, the familiar scent of ketchup and wind comforting her. She was too tired to care about looking weird, and she suspected he felt the same too.

Frisk looked up as he stuck his hand into her pocket and grabbed her phone.

"Mines busted." Sans explained. He looked at hers, shaking excess water droplets off. The screen was a little cracked, but amazingly turned on after being soaked.

"I'm gonna text Undyne or Tori to see if they can get us."

Frisk let her head fall again, closing her eyes. Exhaustion left her drained of life, and she could hardly fight off the waves of blackness that threatened to take her over.

Sans gave her a slight nudge.

"Hey, don't give in on me yet, Snap Pea."

"Like you should be talking." Frisk muttered, looking up at him. He looked as exhausted as she felt, eyes half closed and lights dim. "You look half asleep yourself."

Sans gave her a weary grin.

"Aren't I always?"

"True."

Sans let her phone slip out of his hand, lose somewhere between their bodies.

"Done." He sighed, allowing himself to slouch over.

"That was tough."

"Yeah…" Frisk agreed. She never expected that to happen. It still felt so… unreal.

"But we made it."

"Yup."

Sans was silent for a few moments, the only sound being their collective breathing. Frisk found herself naturally breathing with him, synchronizing her breaths with his.

He had that familiar bashful look as his eyes temporarily increased in size. Frisk wondered why he acted like this sometimes, but her head protested thinking about it and won.

Eventually, Sans put his hand behind her head and pulled her closer, letting his forehead touch hers ever so slightly. Frisk felt her heart jump a little at the unexpected gesture, but received it welcomingly. She was too tired to care and she secretly wanted the contact too.

"Thank you…" he whispered, his voice softer than she had ever heard it.

"You saved him. You saved me too."

Frisk didn't know what to say. She just closed her eyes and relaxed a little more. Despite being a skeleton, his breath was warm.

"Ya'know, I was always terrified of how you'd use your power to Reset. At first I thought you'd use it for bad. I had a sinking feeling for awhile nothing good would come of it. Seems I was blatantly wrong to think that way."

"No. I don't think your wrong." Frisk said.

"Huh?"

She opened her eyes.

"Power like that is terrifying on its own, in anyone's hands. No one should have that power, no matter the drawbacks. No one should be able to mess with time."

Sans huffed.

"Aren't we being a wise and humble little pup now?"

"Maybe."

"Heh."

Frisk let her head drop and buried it in his jacket. Sans's arm moved down and pulled her even closer. Frisk had begun to shiver terribly despite Sans's efforts to keep her warm as possible.

Sans was quiet again, staring out into the snow. It had started to fall lightly.

"…Frisk."

Her ear flicked, and she looked up.

When she looked up, his face was dark and his smile gone.

"…never mind. I was… gonna ask you somethin' but… I can't…"

"What is it?" Frisk asked softly.

Sans looked away.

"I… was going to ask you to stay. Stay down here, with us. With me… but I can't make you do that. Take the surface away from you. It's not fair…" whether she was referring to him or her she didn't know.

He rested his head on top of hers.

"I'm gonna miss you, Frisk." His voice shook a little.

Frisk felt her heart tug. She looked down. Thinking. Weighing her options.

She knew the answer. She had known it all along.

"Sans…" she started, gripping his jacket.

"It's true I miss the surface. With the stars and the sky and the warmth. But… back there, I'm alone under that sky. Down here I… I'm not alone. I have all of you guys. I'd rather be under the ground with you than be under the sky alone, and after all that's happened, everyone I've met, I… I can't let that go. If I can't leave with you guys, then I will wait and find a way."

Sans stiffened, taken aback.

"…Frisk… you know we need another human soul to break the barrier. We're stuck here. It's dangerous for you. It's getting colder and colder, and… you just can't be here."

Frisk smiled softly.

"Everyone always says there is no way. But… maybe there is. You just gotta use your _head,_ something you don't do." Sans gave her a playful nudge at that. "But I just have a feeling there is a way. I don't know how, but it's just a feeling in my chest that I can't let that go."

"Eh, I ain't arguing with you, Puppo."

Frisk felt safe and contented in his grasp despite the cold. She looked up at him, and he maintained eye contact. He seemed to be… looking for something?

After a while he huffed and looked to the side.

"…y'know… I hope not all humans have eyes like yours."

"…huh?" _Is he calling me ugly? Or is he making a pun… oh no._

"Cause _eye-m_ sure I wouldn't be able to stop looking at them."

"…what?"

Sans looked at her in surprise.

"…wow. You are pretty oblivious, huh?"

"Whaaaat?!" Frisk whined, tugging on his jacket.

He looked away, blue briefly flashing on his cheekbones.

"…never mind. Just… never mind."

* * *

 **Oh wow. I'm not happy with the fight but the ending scene was yaaas.**

 **Too Shippy. Remember, no official Ship launch until the end.**

 **Also, don't worry. Storm is around. He ran away. But… that brings the question. Why was he with Sans? How could he see the Star? :D**

 **Also, to explain in case no one understood, the wolf is an amalgamate version of Chara's broken soul. Overfilled with Determination and taking on the wolf form, because Chara is a Wolf-Blood too. That body is dead in the core now, but…**

 **You'll see more of her very, VERY soon :)**

 **Oh Sans, the Core was the wrong place to discard Chara's soul.**

 **I've got to skip reviews again because it's raining out here :/ I am really, really sorry. I promise I will answer them eventually.**

 **Have a merry and safe Christmas, and see you next time!**


	30. Chapter 29- Kidnapped by Satan Fish

**Oh and for the record Frisk is only capable of cooking breakfast food. Because she's inept at cooking like Papyrus, though not as badly. Especially with directions.**

 **For the record I've never played just dance. I've watched friends play it and fail though. XD.**

* * *

Frisk woke up in a daze.

She was in a warm bed, wrapped in soft blankets. It felt _so, so_ good.

But… how?

She didn't remember anything past Sans's weird comment. It was all a blur she couldn't pull apart. Did she pass out?

She must have.

Storm was curled up between her legs.

She recognized the kitten with a pang. _I almost forgot about him, I'm glad he's okay._

Frisk didn't want to move. The warmth and softness felt so good. She recognized it as Sans's bed by the smell.

 _They must have put me here. I hope I'm not taking Sans's bed from him._

She shifted a little in guilt.

Heavy coughing distracted her from her thoughts.

It sounded like someone with a chest cold, sounding from downstairs.

Frisk sat up, thinking a little more.

 _Sans was hurt too. I hope he didn't skip out on treatment. Boy, we've both gotten hurt a lot recently…_

Frisk thought back to the bandaids from the glass and the dogs. She didn't receive any major cuts in the recent fight, but probably a lot of bruises and something broken.

She limped out of bed, hissing as her leg tensed up. She must have hurt it. She hadn't stood up since being thrown into the rocks, she realized.

Storm mewed in protest then meowed in distress when he realized his owner was injured.

"I'm okay, Storm. I'm okay…" Frisk hushed.

She limped to the door and opened it. Some of the clutter of Sans's room was uncharacteristically cleared away to the sides, much to her dismay. It wasn't clean by any means, just shoved into the corners.

When she went downstairs, Sans was wrapped in a blanket burrito. His bones looked a little paler than usual, somehow. She never mentally noted his bones had a blue tint to them, while Papyrus's were a normal bright white.

He was staring ahead, unfocused, until he noticed her approach. His head snapped up to face her.

"Heya, Snap Pea. Is your leg bein a bitch?" He sounded like he was losing his voice.

"Yeah… hey, are you okay? You look…"

"'m fine. My cold just got worse. Nothin bad. "

"Oh. Cold. You sure do sound like it." Frisk sat down next to him. Storm had followed her downstairs and jumped up onto the arm rest.

"that's what Paps said before confining me to the couch. I hate it." Sans's voice wobbled in the last sentence, probably because he tried to growl. He visibly winced.

Frisk raised a brow.

"You hate rest?"

"Naw. I hate forced rest. I want food."

"And you will be getting dinner shortly! Have some patience, Sans!" Toriel called- with a tone of annoyance - from the kitchen.

"Toriel?" Frisk looked up.

She peeked around the kitchen corner.

"Why hello, my child! Are you feeling well?"

"Eh. Could be better, could be worse." Frisk shrugged. She was slightly stuffy herself.

 _I hope I don't get skeleton sickies._

"Oh, that's okay, I suppose. Papyrus and I are making dinner. It shall be ready shortly."

Frisk sniffed the air, a little harder to get past her slightly stuffed nose.

"Turkey?"

"Why yes, my dear."

"Vegetable soup?"

"Right again. That's a good nose you have." Toriel winked before going back in.

Frisk turned back to Sans.

"Is Papyrus… okay?"

Sans nodded slowly.

"…yes. He's okay."

Frisk sighed in relief.

Sans's face scrunched up a bit. She could tell he was biting his tongue. Hiding his emotion.

"… I was doing some looking at my notes. Are you feeling any odd side effects after resetting?"

"No… actually, that time… it was rather normal." Frisk said.

"Good. Hopefully, you won't get the chance… but your body and soul can get all messed up and jack. So many things can go wrong with those damn Resets." Sans's voice still scraped through his throat, mauled by his anger. Frisk's eyes teared up unconsciously at how gravelly his voice sounded. It was almost like listening to nails on a chalk board.

Sans broke into a coughing fit again, hacking up phlegm from… somewhere.

Frisk winced.

"Tori is putting some healing magic in my soup, with some herbs. So hopefully I'm not a leaking skeleton for much longer." Sans read her mind again.

"Hopefully. And I hope I don't get it."

"Papyrus sounds like he's getting it. It may just be a monster cold. You may get your own cold from almost dying from hypothermia. Again."

"Always a possibility."

"Maybe try not to do that?"

"I'll think about it." Frisk leaned back.

Sans huffed and hit her arm lightly from under his blankets.

"You look like a Burrito." Frisk added.

Sans frowned and looked down, his pride mortally wounded.

"I know. Toriel kept laughing at me. Papyrus is making me."

"You should roll onto the floor. It'd be pretty funny."

"Paps would kill me. As much as I'd like to mess with him I've got like, zero energy. I wanna sleep, but we need to talk later."

"Huh? I thought talking was done. Well, maybe I have something to talk about with you." Frisk felt returned annoyance.

Sans knew exactly what it was about.

"I told you what happened with the knife. Yes, I kept it from you for a little bit. I didn't mean to keep it long. Hence why it was in my pants pocket."

Frisk snorted. She was still going to feel guilty either way. Might as well not make a big deal out of it.

"But I think… I think I'm ready to talk. About everything. But I want to wait till everyone else is asleep."

Frisk started in surprise. She didn't expect that.

Actually, she had forgotten about that. He could have gone so much longer without saying a word about it. But he was willingly offering it up. It almost scared her.

 _That isn't like Sans… at all._

Sans looked away.

"I know, it weird… but I've had a little change of heart. And besides, after that other timeline…" despite being under countless blankets, she could see him shudder. "I think it's safer. That you know."

Frisk swallowed and nodded.

Sans sniffled.

They didn't talk any more.

Papyrus came in a little later, bursting with energy.

"Lady Toriel knows the best way to cook Turkey! I have learned so much!" He looked so excited.

Seeing him again, alive and happy, made tears come to Frisk's eyes. It felt like he could fade to dust at any moment.

Papyrus saw her and brightened up some more.

"HUMAN! I am glad to see you up and well! You really scared me! … Human? Are you okay?"

Frisk couldn't help it. She couldn't hold the tears back.

Papyrus grin faded.

"Oh no, human! What is wrong?! Are you hurt? Did Sans say something?" He rushed over, ready to fuss.

Frisk didn't say a word and latched on to him in a hug, taking the skeleton off guard.

"Umm… Human? What's…"

She couldn't get the sound of his bones snapping from her head. His pained face while trapped under Flowey's vines.

"I think she just needs a hug, bro." Sans said softly.

 _Does he feel like this too?_

"Oh, alright. The Great Papyrus shall give you a Great Papyrus hug!" Papyrus bent down a little and wrapped her into a hug, pressing a little too hard. It hurt. But she smiled anyways.

Papyrus wasn't going anywhere. Their sweet skeleton was here to stay.

She finally pried herself away from Papyrus and remembered Undyne and Rocky.

"Where's Undyne? Rocky?" Frisk asked, sniffling. Her crying didn't help her nose.

"Oh!" Papyrus looked a little sad. "They decided to wait till another day. Rocky was called for his Royal Guardsman duties to investigate the forest! And Toriel said that the less people here the better."

Rocky had to investigate?

 _I guess it makes sense, after all the damage… that thing caused._ Frisk shivered, remembering convulsing flesh and snapping teeth.

Frisk sat back down next to Sans. She wasn't particularly hungry, so she wasn't in a rush to have dinner.

Toriel brought in the food, as well as an extra chair for herself. Papyrus sat on the floor in front of the couch.

Sans had difficulty getting out of his burrito, but he eventually freed his arms and started _inhaling_ his food. Frisk wondered if, in the case he couldn't free his arms, if he would just open his mouth and suck it all in like a vacuum. His right arm was still trembling, and Frisk noted it with concern.

"You must have been hungry, dear!" Toriel laughed.

Frisk edged a little farther from him. She didn't want to be next on the menu after he finished with his current food.

Frisk only picked at her food. She just… wasn't hungry.

"Hey, Frisky, you gonna eat?" Of course, trust Sans to notice.

Frisk blinked and swirled her soup around.

"What? Do you want it?" She offered.

"No. I'm concerned as to why you are not devouring anything. You must be pretty frickin hungry too." Sans's eyes scanned her own.

"No, not really…" Frisk looked right back. She didn't have anything to hide. She just wasn't hungry.

Toriel had a similar reaction.

"My child, are you hurt? Not feeling well? Or do you not like it?"

Frisk put her hands up.

"No, No! It's good! I'm just not hungry for some reason. Might be all the stress and stuff. I'll see if I'm hungry later." Frisk felt a little warmth in her chest. _These people care about me. I would never find that on the surface._

Sans huffed and leaned back.

"You'd better, or I'll yank your tail till you do."

"Touch my tail and I will be eating _you."_ Frisk retorted.

"Sans, don't bother the human! Human, please do not eat my brother. I do not want to be an only child. Plus, he would be bad for your health!" Papyrus was keeping his voice lower than usual. He was starting to be a little more conscious of her sensitivity after events like this, though Frisk thought they happened much to often. Though he may be a little daft and naive, she had a suspicion that Papyrus could be just as observant and perceptive as his brother.

"I would not. Pure calcium." Sans argued.

"Pure Lazybones! Pure junk food! Bleh!" Papyrus shook his head.

"Yeah, he'd probably give me a stomach ache." Frisk agreed.

Sans shoved another turkey leg into his mouth, not saying another word.

…

Papyrus went to bed unusually early. Sans said he may be feeling some echoes of the other timeline. And that her break down spooked him. Frisk felt bad.

All the lights were off, save for the lamp on the table. It set a soft, calm glow across the walls in the

Toriel had gone home, after making sure that the two of them were alright one last time. She really was a mother to all.

Storm was sitting on top of the TV. The screen was off, reflecting the lamp.

She knew why it was off. Sans said he was finally going to spill the beans. But right now he was just staring blankly ahead.

Frisk didn't bug. She was too absorbed by other thoughts. The darkness didn't feel right. She didn't understand what, but she felt a bad presence and she _didn't_ like it. It made her hair stand on end and her tail to bristle slightly. Storm threw her a curious glance.

The TV spooked her a little as well. Why was she scared of such stupid things?

"Hey, What, you think something's gonna jump outta the TV?" Sans caught her throwing the appliance a scared glance.

Frisk shook her head furiously, flustered.

Sans answered with a single cough. His voice sounded a little better. She didn't expect the soup to work so fast, but it did have healing magic after all.

"So…" Sans started, staring at the wall.

"I… ugh, I don't know how to start this crap."

Frisk shrugged.

"Don't ask me." She wasn't exactly an expert at interaction to begin with.

Sans exhaled and shifted a little. He grabbed the top of his right arm.

"Well… remember how you asked what happened to my arm? Well… you… you were right. I… it was me."

Frisk stiffened a little. She knew it. But she didn't understand. _Why would he hurt himself?_

Sans sensed this.

"I know it may be weird… but it was a way of coping, for me. It isn't something I think anyone else would understand. Back then I would do it a lot. I permanently messed up my arm. I… I don't really do it anymore, though."

Frisk closed her eyes.

"Are you sure? Will you do it again?"

"I don't know. I wanted to after the thing with Uno, and our argument in Waterfall. But I didn't. I was just purely too lazy to get up, even to make myself feel a little better."

Frisk felt her stomach churn. He wanted to hurt himself because of her?

 _I really was acting selfishly._ She looked down.

"That needs to be taken of, you know. Somehow. There are different... Better ways to cope with things." Frisk said. She didn't know _how_ they would do it, considering she just couldn't understand to begin with

Sans was quiet for a moment.

"…I know. But…"

"What?"

"That's not the only thing. I… Frisk, whatever I tell you stays between us, alright? Doesn't get uttered to another mouth. I'm serious."

Frisk could tell he was. He was _scared._

Frisk nodded slowly.

He closed his eyes and relaxed a little.

"The reason I'm breaking now is because today, I realized I could really trust you. Plus, wanted to get that damn promise outta the way. But, as I was saying… I really like being Moon-Blood. I really do. But, it's the parts of me that are really me I can't stand. Back with Uno, I made that choice. It wasn't instinct or anger. It wasn't a wolf. It was me. And it wasn't the first time. Not even fucking close." Sans had tensed up again.

Frisk felt her ears flatten.

"Sans, if you really don't-"

"Frisk, please don't start. I know you don't like seeing upset people, and quite frankly I don't like doing this either. But, for one I want you to know. And two, maybe you're right. Maybe it'd be better if I wasn't the only one with this shit in my head."

She sighed. He was right about that.

"Anyways, remember what I said about you tapping into your wolf side much easier than I did? Well, I meant the spiritual side. The… better side, in my opinion. I don't think I got much in regards to that. But, physical, I've got it naturally. That sided with my… issues… makes for a very unpleasant combo. And it's never served me well. I used to…"

Sans stopped.

Frisk wrapped her tail around her waist, shivering a little. It was getting chilly, even inside.

"Frisk, you know my father, Gaster, right? And that I don't exactly have well feelings towards him? Well, that goes a long ways back. He… he was the royal scientist. He used to be brilliant, the smartest monster anyone has ever known. He built the Core, made medicines… new technology. He served monsterkind well, until… a human fell down. It was the second human. A girl, in her thirties, I believe. I don't know much about her. But they met, and they eventually… Welp, made kids. But, being a human down here isn't forgiving. There's no human specialist in medicine, or any of that. She gave birth to one child and died two days later because she didn't have proper medical help."

Frisk was silent for few heartbeats, putting together the information.

"So… you?"

"Yeah. Paps came along later. From an experiment of his, and by all biological standards he's still their child. Just… lab born. It was his attempt to bring her back. Over that time he… grew heartless, and distant. He didn't fell sympathy, or hatred. He felt nothing. He withdrew into his labs, and clung to the only thing he could progress in- science. Unfortunately, being his kid meant I… was included, in that."

Frisk suppressed her dismay and disgust. Sans was shaking. He was gripping the armrest of the couch so hard the threads were coming undone.

"He kept me in his lab, before Paps was around. He'd call me in to… experiment. It was like I was just a lab rat- and to him, that's all I was. Like I said, he was numb. All he felt was pain over losing what he loved, and apparently still having his kid wasn't enough." There was years of venom in Sans's voice that made Frisk flinch.

Frisk couldn't imagine what it was like. It made her sick to the stomach thinking about it.

"And when he figured out I was a Moon-Blood, things only got worse. He'd put me in… in a room, and send certain signals through. See how'd I react to it. Most of the time, release dogs bred from the Blizzardland dogs into the room. Sometimes it'd just hurt, sometimes it made me flip. Sometimes, it'd do nothing at all and I'd have to fight the dogs fully conscious and out of fear. Eventually I stopped feeling sorry for the things. For anyone, really. All I felt was anger. "Why me, why am I like this, why is he my father?" Then he slowed down with the experiments, because something else enticed him. Then I was pretty much left alone… until he figured out I inherited his brains. The humans that fell down, he wanted to experiment on. He wanted to find a way to clone them, or something. To bring her back. Being stupid, I agreed to help because I hated humans. Real bad. I wanted them all dead. Contrary to what most monsters believe, six humans did not fall down after Chara. It It waswas more. The others Gaster took to experiment on and their souls were so corrupted that they ended up shattering before being able to be preserved. But, he hated hurting them. He did care and tried his best to make them not feel pain, to make them comfortable. He even figured out that it wasn't going to work and let his last one go. I never understood… why would he care more about strangers than me? Well, I made sure that human didn't go very far…"

Frisk shuddered. Her heart sped up.

 _He… killed… that human. On purpose?_

Sans's expression softened.

"Listen, Frisk, I don't feel the same way now. Actually, I think I may understand his feelings a little better. But, back on topic… he eventually gave up his experiments. By that time Paps was around. He took us to a house and tried being a father to Paps. He was more like our mother, and he could see it. He wasn't as cold anymore… and I hated it. Once again… it was always someone else. I eventually adopted the belief it was because of how vicious I was. Back then I had developed some real bad… anger issues. I'd get into fights all the time. And the opposing side never fared well. Once I figured it out I just hid away. From everyone. That's when I found out more about the silver soul trait. I had seen the wolf spirit before in quick glimpses, but now I could see him fully. I knew who he was and why he was here. He kept me a tiny bit of company. I got a lot calmer, just sitting out alone with that wolf. Wonders, what silence can do."

Frisk knew exactly who he was taking about. And it sounded like he had a very strong bond with this wolf.

 _I wonder if I could get like that with mine, as well?_

"Well, I eventually began to crave more. Gaster had ... I noticed he was trying something. He was trying to... Reconcile, I think. It didn't work very well, but despite how angry I was... A part of me wanted that. But I-" Sans broke into a string of coughs, and Frisk noticed his voice was sounding worse. "I… I was too late. One day, there was an emergency at the Core, and… he never came back. He was erased. That's what happens when you fall down there. You get shattered across time and space. Despite everything he did… I…"

Sans looked away, squeezing his eyes shut.

Frisk could feel pain coming off of him in waves. Her throat tightened.

 _Sans…_

He shook himself.

"Well… I raised Paps alone. But there was an anomaly. I have a… special sense, of sorts. As you know, I remember Resets. Gaster did too. I don't know why, but I had the tiniest bit of control over time and space. I could hop through weak spots in time and space, the shortcuts I like to take. The resets happened so frequently I never remembered much. Because I usually need some reminder or echo of the previous timeline. Also, the more Determination fueled it, the less I could remember. I tried making a machine to… counter this. It's still in the basement. But it never worked. It was never enough. Meanwhile, I… I worked with Alphys… I can't really tell you what I did. Because it was two of us, and its equal part her share of secrets as it is mine. I'm not going to spill her beans for my sake. Let's just say… I'm a lot more like my father than I had realized. That's… okay, right? You're appeased?" Sans coughed again.

Frisk shrunk.

"Sans, I… I didn't mean to… I understand why you wouldn't want to… I hope I didn't force you… or hurt you, or-"

"Didn't I say to stop? You're not helping here, Frisky." Sans gave her a playful slap on the arm.

"You can be really gosh darn brave when you want to be. Then you get all nervous and stuff elsewhere. Is it a human thing, or just a Frisk thing?"

Frisk smiled slightly.

"Frisk thing, I think. But I'm serious about that, Sans. And I admire you thinking of Alphys, too. You can be really kind when you try."

"Yeah, I'm still workin' on it. You're like my Ginny Pig in that department. Not being a jerk isn't easy." Sans gave her an uneasy smile.

Frisk looked down.

"So… like I said, I hope… I didn't hurt you more. I never really… well, I knew something was wrong. But I never thought… something like that… that's what I meant, when I said that I can't be sorry for myself. Because a ton of people have it a hell of a lot worse. And… I really don't know what to say or what I can do..."

Sans shifted under his blanket. His eyes were drooping with weariness.

"No, it's actually… not as horrible as I thought it would be. Talking and stuff. But... don't go comparing yourself to other people. Abuse can be physical or emotional, you know. It doesn't matter if you've experienced one or another or both at the same time. All that matters is that you have gone through it and other people have too. And hey, it's in the past. No use in pity if it can't be changed."

"But… it still hurts you." Frisk said flatly.

"Yeah, I know. Because I'm a dumbass. And I've still got issues. But… maybe one day, they'll all be gone. If I actually try it'll be better. Maybe… if I stop being an independent prick, that'll help too." Sans chuckled.

Frisk joined him.

"Yeah, that might help a little."

Sans let out a little cough.

"Frisk… you're the only person besides Paps who I trust. And, I never expected that to be the case, y'know? I have killed humans in the past… many. I hope I didn't… spook you with that. Well, I probably did, but… know it's different now, okay?"

Frisk couldn't lie. She was a little chilled. It was scary to think she'd be one of them if it weren't for one little promise.

"Y-yeah. But, Sans… would you? I mean, still kill a human? A different one? Promise aside?"

Sans stared at the TV thoughtfully.

"I… dunno. Depends. To be honest, even without the promise I would have had a rough time killing you. I've changed a lot, from back then. Morals haven't been my thing for my whole life, but I think I've at least developed some sort of decency."

"That's fair." Frisk said.

Sans looked at her, and his eye lights expanded slightly.

"I need you to know, though… I still sort of have a short fuse. I'm normally pretty cool as you know, but I still do have that…control issue. It's like a bomb. I don't want… you to feel too safe, alright? I'd never hurt you on purpose, but I have freaked out before. I even hurt Paps once. The damn kid didn't even care, he was too worried about me. I'm always scared half to death I would hurt someone I care about. It's… it's a pretty bad thing to tell you of all people, seeing how you _don't_ feel safe. Ever. Seriously, you're scared of a goddamn TV." The corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

Frisk looked away. _I'm_ _not_ _scared of the TV! I'm... Totally not!_

"Sans… surprisingly, I'm gonna ignore that. You're my friend. There have been hiccups, but you… you've really helped me. In more ways than one. I like being around you. The least I could do is help you when you need it. I don't care if you blow up, I'm not going anywhere."

Sans averted his eyes and coughed. He appeared to be flustered.

"Welp. That got weird. But stubbornness gets you no where."

"But Determination does. Hypocrite." Frisk countered.

Sans broke into another coughing fit. "Bleh. Talked too much. Hate life."

Frisk felt another drop of guilt. She made him talk. Well, he was the one who chose now, but it was still her fault…

"I'm sorry, hold on. I'll get something." Frisk stood up.

Sans shook his head.

"No, I can get a drink if I need one. No thanks."

"Remember about trying not to be an independent prick? Well, let's practice." Frisk winked.

Sans groaned and leaned his head back.

 _Chances are, if I didn't do it you wouldn't. Because you're lazy. You'd rather suffer than get up and open the fridge._

Frisk grabbed two juice boxes. She was thirsty herself.

Despite his previous argument, Sans eagerly took the juice box.

While Sans was sucking his down Frisk took a sip of hers. She immediately spat it out.

"Bleh! What flavor is this?! It tastes like ass!"

Sans glanced at his curiously.

"Mines Apple. How do you know what ass tastes like?"

"I would imagine it tastes like this!" Hers said Apple too. Though…

Frisk tore the top off. Inside was some very off looking spaghetti sauce.

Sans started laughing.

"Oh my god, that's priceless!"

Frisk glared at it crossly.

"How the hell did Papyrus get sauce in here! Why would he get sauce in here!"

Sans was still laughing and wheezing.

Frisk growled and threw the carton into the garbage bin.

Sans eventually calmed down, and rested his head against the armrest. His eye lights were dim.

"Hey, Do ya wanna switch places tonight? I'll stay here and you can have my bed."

"H-huh? No, I don't want to steal your bed…" Frisk shook her head.

"It's not like that. I want to sleep here tonight." Sans closed his eyes.

"Why?"

"Warmer. Lazy. And, I can get my head a little higher to help stop the coughing and congestion."

"O-oh. Well, it's your house, so… you get first pick." Frisk said.

"Besides, you probably shouldn't be sleeping here anyways. You've been limping. Not enough room." Sans added.

"It's not that bad…" Frisk argued. "Just sore. I'm not as badly hurt as I thought I'd be, being crushed under that thing and then knocked into a wall."

"Yeah, me too. Though Tori said the gash was pretty bad. It'll leave a scar, but hey, I already got plenty of those, amirite?"

Frisk's face dropped. She knew what he was talking about.

She stared at him pitifully for a few seconds before standing up.

"Well, you look tired. Goodnight, Sans."

Sans opened his eyes.

" 'night, Snap Pea. Oh, remember. No cleaning my room. Capiche?"

Frisk stuck her tongue out at him before going slowly up the stairs, Storm at her heels.

…

Frisk awoke early the next morning. Even before Papyrus.

Probably because Storm had parked in her face and was slowly suffocating her.

Frisk pushed the kitten off and spat out a mouthful of fur.

"Are you plotting to kill me?" She asked.

Storm stared at her blankly and meowed.

Frisk groaned and sat up.

"Yeah, yeah. Hungry, right?" Frisk noticed she still wasn't hungry. Oh well.

She felt a whole lot better compared to yesterday. Parts of her body still ached, but sleeping in a bed after all this time felt nice. Even if it was a crappy bed.

Storm padded her legs. He stared at her with begging eyes.

Frisk righted his bandana.

"I'll get you something. And… you know what? You wanna try cooking?" Frisk remembered what happened at Asgore's when she tried cooking, but she was sure she knew common kitchen sense by now. Plus, Papyrus's lousy cooking made her feel slightly confident, as horrible as it was to admit.

Storm meowed again.

Frisk laughed and ruffled his fur.

"Feed me, feed me! I will, don't worry. Eggs?"

"Mrow!"

Frisk got out of the bed, debating on whether she should set it up or not. Sans usually left his blanket in a giant, creasy ball. Frisk just left the bed as is, scared making it neat would count as "cleaning".

It was almost like living in trash comforted Sans. Maybe he felt at home?

Next she'd find him asleep in a trash can.

Frisk wanted to make something for Sans as well. She knew last night had to be tough. She couldn't get it out of her head, now that it had been said. Both his past and his cutting.

She knew she couldn't do much. But she could at least return one of the many favors he did for her.

Frisk looked up a recipe on Undernet while going down the stairs. A dangerous task, considering she wasn't walking normally yet. Storm meowed loudly at her, as if scolding her.

Or maybe he was demanding food. One of the two.

After finding one she liked Frisk set to it. She remembered eating these type of eggs at her grandmothers house one of the very few times she was there. Her grandmother was nice, but very sickly. Frisk hadn't seen her since she was eight. She didn't even know if she had passed away or not.

First she had to get some bread and cut holes into it with a cup. She fed the cut outs to Storm, who sniffed at them before turning his nose up. Apparently bread wasn't good enough for him.

Then she had to put the egg in the center of the bread and cook it. Frisk had difficulty flipping the bread, and ended up almost catching herself on fire because she turned around and waved her tail at the same time.

Burning fur smells bad.

Another challenge was that they only had a small pan. She could only cook one at a time, and it took forever to get a decent amount. The first few were burnt, or the yolks broke, but after awhile she got into a good rhythm.

She gave one early to Storm as a test. He seemed to love it. The yolk was still runny in the middle, and he lapped it up happily. He didn't touch the bread, though.

"SANS! What is that smell!"

Frisk heard familiar stomping as Papyrus came down the stairs.

 _Does it smell… bad?_ Frisk exchanged glances with Storm. She thought it smelled good.

Sans didn't answer, probably still asleep.

Papyrus came into the kitchen, and Storm ran up to him for attention.

"Human? What are you doing?"

Frisk looked away.

"Making… eggs."

"Wowie! I didn't know you could cook! They smell delicious, almost as great as a dish made by the Master Chef Papyrus, Nyeh heh heh!"

Frisk shuffled, flustered.

Papyrus came over, looking at the plates full of the egg-toast.

"I've never seen eggs like that before?"

"It toast with egg in the middle. The yolk is still runny and stuff. It's one of my favorite foods. My grandmother used to make it for me. It's real messy, though." Frisk poked one of the eggs to demonstrate. Yellow bled out like blood.

"That sounds really cool! Though, not the mess part. Sans doesn't do well with messes. Do you know how many clothes he ruined by spilling ketchup!?"

"I'd imagine." Frisk chuckled.

Papyrus stroked Storm, and the kitten purred loudly.

"Well, they are all done. Do you think you could wake up Sans? Don't nag him too much, he's sick."

Papyrus saluted her, making her giggle.

"Sure! The Great Papyrus shall fetch his lazybones brother!"

Papyrus dashed out of the room enthusiastically.

Turns out, Sans had already woken up. Papyrus's loud voice had done the trick. Plus, the smell. Papyrus said that he was practically drooling.

Frisk hung back nervously while Sans took a plate, eyeing it.

"Heh, weird looking. It jiggles when I move the plate… heheh." Sans shook the plate, making the egg in the middle sway back and forth.

"Sans, do not play with your food! It's disrespectful!" Papyrus scolded. He had taken his plate only to get bugged by Storm. Seems the kitten hadn't had enough.

"Naw. I like jiggles." Sans poked it with his fork. Why was he so intent on playing with it? Why couldn't he just eat it? Maybe it was a survival method ingrained by Papyrus's cooking.

Finally, Sans cut off a piece and took a bite.

Frisk watched him intently.

 _Please don't tell me I'm garbage please don't tell me I'm garbage please don't tell me I'm garbage._

Sans made a face.

Oh no…

Then he took another mouthful.

Someone must have turned on the vacuum again, because she had never seen Sans eat something so fast.

Why was he in inhale mode lately anyways?

He also got yolk all over his shirt.

Frisk hoped he didn't eat his shirt now.

"… do you…"

"More?"

"W-well, yeah, but is it good?"

Sans stood up and went into the kitchen without another word.

Well, there certainly wouldn't be any leftovers.

…

Turns out they had found a new favorite of Sans's. He actually didn't smother it in ketchup.

Papyrus liked it too. Frisk was extremely happy.

Until Undyne came barging into the door and practically kidnapped her, saying it was "Bestie time."

Sans looked a little offended.

Undyne was literally carrying her while sprinting through Waterfall. Frisk didn't struggle. She knew there was no point.

"So, Punk! I've decided it's a Girl Day! And we're gonna do Girl things! And your gonna fucking like it!"

"Am I?" Frisk wasn't happy about being abducted. It was too cold.

"HELL YEAH! YOUR GONNA LIKE IT OR I WILL KICK YOUR- oh, hey Alphys."

Undyne came to a stop right in front of Alphys's lab. Alphys herself stood outside. Her glasses were glowing in an orange color. It smelled like a heater.

Frisk was finally dropped, and she scrambled up, brushing snow off.

"H-h-hey, U-Undyne. Frisk. Uh… sorry a-about…"

Frisk put her hands up.

"It's… okay, I guess. I wanted to sleep all day though."

"So lame! You're becoming more like Sans every day!" Undyne snorted.

Alphys was looking at Undyne with intense affection in her eyes. And something else that almost reminded her of the looks Sans sometimes gave her.

"Hey."

Frisk jumped as a familiar voice approached from behind.

Silver?

"Hey, you made it, cool!" Undyne greeted the cat.

Silver crossed her arms.

"Hello."

"Silver? You know Undyne?"

The cat nodded.

"Yes. I saved her once, in Blizzardland. I am also familiar with Doctor Alphys."

 _Boy, she knows everyone, doesn't she?_ Friskthought.

"So… what is going on? I wasn't exactly informed before you kidnapped me." Frisk asked.

"Oh! Right! We're gonna do girl stuff! Like, in the anime Alphys has!"

Alphys giggled while Frisk and Silver exchanged glances.

"So! We need to go to a mall! And buy clothes! And stuff! It's supposed to be fun! And then we can… uh, do whatever girls do!" Undyne shouted.

"Um… I'm not exactly…" Frisk trailed off. "… familiar with any of this."

"Yes, me as well. I've always done what I believed was fun regardless of gender stereotypes." Silver agreed.

"W-w-well, I-its supposed to b-be very f-fun, especially with f-friends."

"YEAH! Besides, you can get some fashion advice, Frisk!" Undyne said.

"Hey!" Frisk growled.

"Well, wearing Sans's old clothes and a torn scarf isn't exactly fashionable." Undyne put her hands on her hips.

Well. Couldn't argue with that.

"Besides, you need to let go a little bit! And get away from Sans. Seriously. Half the people in Snowdin are making jokes about you two."

Frisk raised a brow.

"What? What kind of jokes?"

Undyne face palmed.

"What kind of jokes do you think?!"

"The point of me asking is that I don't know."

"You're hopeless. Anyways, you guys ready for this?" Undyne turned to Alphys.

"U-um, y-yeah, Undyne!" Alphys said nervously.

"Sure." Silver added Cooly.

"Fine. I don't think I can get out of this, can I?" Frisk didn't show it, but she was curious. She had seen groups of girls on the surface having fun, and she'd never engaged in…girls activities, save for sharing anime crushes with Alphys.

"Then to the MTT Mall we go!"

…

Turns out the stores were still open in MTT. Only the hotel and major restaurant were closed for renovations. Sans was right- there was a party scheduled soon. Frisk had never been to an actual party.

She and Silver were practically dragged by Undyne and Alphys into the mall. It was bigger than Frisk imagined, though not too huge by human standards. And there weren't as many people around, as she would have guessed.

There were pictures and models of Mettaton _everywhere_. And another rather feminine looking guy with similar ears and tail to Mettaton. Frisk wondered if all mascots of MTT were cat fanatics, or if maybe Mettaton was actually hiding inside of the rectangle robot (very unlikely… right ;)

Frisk wanted to look at all the jewelry, and stuffed animals, but she was dragged into the clothing section against her will. Undyne had a plan and no one was going to turn it around.

It smelled like fancy perfume and fur inside the clothing store. There were three sections- one presumably for men and another for women- and a last one with the most bizarre looking articles of clothing she had ever laid eyes on. Not all monsters had humanoid shapes, after all.

Most of the clothes were warm, winter-y types. A small, almost dusty selection of summer clothes laid in a corner, forgotten.

She noticed Silver was pretty tall, now that they were surrounded by clothing and such. She was taller than Undyne and Papyrus (who had the same height.). She wasn't nearly as tall as Toriel or Asgore, but still pretty tall the same. Her long tail flicked slightly, indicating impatience or annoyance.

Undyne found a dress from somewhere and immediately rushed it to Alphys, and then they both went into the changing rooms together.

Frisk stared at the doors blankly.

"Humph. Already like a couple." Silver said.

Frisk looked up at her. Undyne and Alphys, couple?

She remembered Undyne was lesbian. Maybe it wasn't so far fetched. She hadn't known the two had been so close, but…

Poor Alphys. Frisk didn't know how she could handle a Satan Fish.

Alphys came out in a polka dot dress.

Undyne pointed to her.

"So! What do you punks think?!"

Frisk blinked.

"It's cool."

Alphys looked away bashfully.

"I am not a fan of the dots. But, you and only you should be the judge of your clothes." Silver said bluntly.

Undyne shook her head at the cat.

"You have a sense of style that's, like, a century old. Frisk! Your turn!"

"Wait-"

Frisk couldn't protest as she was pulled away by Undyne.

Into the dresses.

Frisk started sweating. She didn't like dresses.

"Undyne, I don't wear dresses. Please."

"Shut up, punk! It's cause you've never had sensible advice! You've got a good chest, but you don't have much in terms of curves or hips. So, you've gotta find clothes that work on your strong points and cover your weak points!"

Frisk opened her mouth to argue as Undyne began to shift through the dresses, then closed it.

Undyne did sound like she knew a little of what she was talking about.

"Clothing is just like combat, in a way! And I'm an expert at both! Fufufufu!"

"When am I going to wear a dress, anyways. Not outside. Especially since I'm always getting into some sort of bloody mess."

"Well, you know there's a party soon! Wear it there!"

"No!"

"Yes! Your supposed to wear something fancy anyways! And Sans's clothes aren't fancy. Besides, I'm _suuuure_ he would "appreciate" it."

"He doesn't care. Most of it is itchy stuff."

"Not appreciate in that way. Damn, you're stupid."

"H-hey!"

"Here we go!"

Undyne pulled out a long, silver dress with sparklies and little gems on the top and fur trimming on the bottom.

Frisk liked the sparklies.

"All you'd need to do is cut a tail hole- if it fits, anyways."

"Nnnnooooooo…" Frisk took a step back.

"Yes, Punk! I demand you! There are two ways we can do this. I can force you into this or you can go willingly- and I have no preference." Undyne gave her a smirk akin to those on serial killers.

Frisk sighed.

"Fine. Give me the damn thing."

Undyne chuckled victoriously while Frisk grabbed the dress and sulked towards the changing rooms.

Silver snickered at her misery.

Frisk didn't feel comfortable at all. She still felt like a pair of eyes were trained on her, like she wasn't alone.

"What's takin' so long in there, Punk?! You strangle yourself?"

Frisk mumbled a string of curses under her breath akin to Sans's vocabulary and stomped out.

"W-wow, Frisk! You look different! Though you d-don't l-look…"

"I'm not thrilled."

"W-well, I t-think I-it suits you." Alphys was fiddling her claws nervously. She had changed back into her normal clothes and had a couple other outfits hung on her arm.

"Wait, I didn't bring any money." Frisk's eyes widened. Well, not That she had much to bring.

"Don't worry, Doctor Alphys has kindly offered to pay for it all." Silver reassured.

"Yeah! Al is _loooaded!_ She is the royal scientist, after all! Plus, she's the head producer of synthetic fur down here. And everyone likes fur down here, as you may have noticed." Undyne huffed at the last part.

"Yes, I know." Frisk's tail swayed back and forth.

"Well, hurry up out of that. We're gonna go get more!"

Frisk groaned and turned around, preparing for hours of torment.

…

Well, maybe not too much torment.

After she got past Undyne forcing her into things, it was actually pretty fun. They had gone around pretty much the whole mall. Frisk finally got to look at the jewelry. There was plenty of stuff she likes (pretty much anything sparkling) and her favorite was an emerald necklace that Silver said matched her eyes well. They had gotten matching necklaces due to their similar eye color. Frisk's were darker than the necklace and Silver's were lighter, and they both got nice use out of the emerald stones. Plus, they sparkled.

She found a plain purple sweatshirt that she kept on for the way back. It was fuzzy on the inside.

Frisk also got a new bag, finally. It was black with a cute purple cat in the corner. A lot of MTT's stuff had cats involved.

Frisk also thought about Sans and Papyrus while looking through everything. She hoped that Papyrus would like the game she had gotten him. It had a tube with many sticks to be inserted through holes in the side, and the sticks held up marbles. Players had to pull them out one by one until all the marbles fell. Frisk thought it suited Papyrus.

Alphys had found the Pokémon stuff, bless her. Frisk couldn't find her favorite Pokemon besides Eevee, but she got a cute Rockruff plush for Sans. He seemed to like plushes just as much as she did.

Undyne dragged them back to Alphys's lab afterwards. Frisk convinced her to get food on the way, so she was fine. Looking and smelling all the cool food there brought her appetite back. And she had held back on her own eggs that morning because of Sans.

She hadn't had sushi in awhile, but damn was it good. They all dragged out beanie bags to sit on.

Undyne decided they had to play one of her favorite games she had found at the garbage dump. Which turned out to be a dancing game. Just Dance. Frisk laughed as the fish attempted the moves on the screen for the first song. Undyne ended up moving too forcefully and wasn't able to preform half of the moves for the song right, because they were small and delicate.

After the first song, Undyne turned to them.

"Hey, we can get up to three! Al, Human, get over here!"

"O-okay!" Alphys sprung up and stood off to the side.

"Do I have too?" Frisk asked. She was good at copying movement, but… she didn't exactly feel like… dancing. It looked weird, and she was self conscious as hell.

"Yes! Silver doesn't like this, for some reason."

Silver snorted.

"I don't see the point in it, that's all."

Frisk huffed and stood up.

She was curious.

As she took the place between Undyne and Al, the doors to the lab slid open.

Alphys jumped, and so did she. Undyne twisted her head.

"Ugh, Sans! This is girls day, get out!" Undyne snarled.

 _Sans?_ Frisk had neutral feelings on his appearance.

He came it, and she realized he was holding Storm. At a safe distance from himself.

"I came to bring the vermin. It wouldn't leave me alone. Never leave without it again." Sans dropped the kitten to the floor. Storm meowed and ran to join the fun.

"Aww, Storm! Hello!" Frisk bent down to pet him. He sniffed at her new sweatshirt before rubbing against her affectionately.

Sans plopped down on the beanie bag that she had been previously occupying.

"You're not leaving, are you?" Undyne asked.

"Nope. Too lazy. Besides, you kidnapped my human."

"Not your human. My human! We're besties!"

 _Oh lord._ Frisk felt a drop of nervous sweat.

"I don't think there is fear of ones life in besties." Sans combated.

"She is not scared for her life! And at least I'm not a sad pervert!"

"I'm straight."

"I don't eat kittens!"

"It's called Chinese food."

"Sans, enough!" Frisk ordered. "Storm doesn't need to hear that!"

Sans rolled his eyes.

"Dear god. It's a cat."

"Speaking o-of c-c-cats, w-why don't w-we do the c-cat song? Hello Kitty? W-we could all do t-that!"

Undyne gasped with joy.

"Yaaaas! Al, you're a genius! Kitty!" Undyne used the controller to scroll down to the song of her choice.

Storm meowed at the word "kitty". He had figured out what it meant.

Frisk swallowed. Welp. Time to lose any sense of pride she had.

She had pride?

"Get ready for the kitty song!" Undyne threw the controller down as the loading screen came on.

The first move was shifting weight from one side to another in the hips. Easy enough.

Storm stared questioningly at the screen.

" _Ka-Ka-kawaii!"_

A song saying kawaii? Awesome!

She realized she heard this song before.

She focused on the figure on the screen, hoping she didn't look like an idiot. Well, dreaming. It doing it half hearted would only make her look worse, so…

" _Come come Kitty Kitty you're so pretty pretty don't go kitty kitty stay with meeeee~"_

"COME HERE LITTY KITTEH!" Undyne yelled at Storm. He flicked an ear and watched the screen, eyes wide.

"Awwwww, it's perfect for him!" Frisk cooed, moving her arms up and down. This was actually kinda fun!

" _Come come Kitty kitty you're so silly silly don't go kitty kitty stay with meeeeee, Ka-ka-kawaii!_ "

"Whose a silly kitty, Storm is!" Frisk laughed while keeping her eyes on the screen, following the movements.

"Damn punk, you're better at this than I would have thought! You ever play this before?"

"No. It's just copying, it's not that hard."

"You're kidding."

Storm had started moving in circles, probably trying to figure out what they were doing. His fur was puffy and messy.

"Awwww, he's trying to dance! He's so cuuuute!"

"Oh my gosh!" Alphys giggled.

"BUST A LEG, CAT!"

"It's just a fuzzy rat, what is your guy's issue?" Sans growled from behind them.

Frisk ignored him and stared to sing along, pointing at Storm playfully. The cat stopped spinning and meowed happily.

"Come come kitty kitty you're so pretty pretty come come kitty kitty stay with me! Come come kitty kitty you're so silly silly don't go kitty kitty stay with meeeee!" She honestly didn't care at this point. Besides, she didn't sound like she used to…

"Whoooooo! You go girl!" Undyne cheered before trying to do the spin move and running into the table to her left.

She fell over on it and broke it in half, drinks sliding down and spilling on her.

Frisk stopped, eyes wide.

"Undyne?"

"Oh no, U-Undyne!" Alphys ran over.

Undyne sprang up.

"I'M FINE! FINISH THE FREAKING SONG!"

Undyne pointed forcefully at the screen.

Alphys rushed back to her spot and Undyne continued, still covered in drinks.

Storm was jumping up and down excitedly. He probably had no idea what was happening but the word "kitty" coupled with the fun being had probably drove him nuts.

They all started singing the end of the song, and Sans started laughing.

When it was finally over, Frisk took a few steps back, contented.

"Undyne sounded like a dolphin." Sans snickered.

Undyne held up her fist.

"You wanna go?"

Sans put his hands up.

"Hey, hey, no need to get jealous because the human both sings and dances better than you."

Frisk felt heat in her cheeks.

"I do?"

Undyne growled and looked down.

"Well, at least I'm not as weak as a noddle… and I've got fashion sense too! Plus I can play a freaking piano! Can you play a piano!" Undyne asked.

"No. I can't play anything." Frisk said flatly. "But I never… sang well. Well, I thought that, anyways."

"Well, I think y-you s-should open u-up more!" Alphys said.

Storm attacked the screen, batting at the moving icon that floated on the song selection screen.

Sans pointed at his neck.

"Whether you could or not, your voice is more flexible now. It's gotta be in order to howl."

Frisk blinked.

"So… you'd sing well too, right?"

Sans huffed.

"No, its just easier, I guess."

Undyne played with her ponytail.

"Bullshit. Papyrus says you sing well."

Sans shuffled further into the beanie.

"It's Papyrus. You know how he is."

"Yeah right."

Frisk fought a smirk. Looks like she wasn't the only self conscious one. She never thought of Sans being self conscious about anything, but she guessed everyone had their insecurities.

"Well, could you move out of my beanie?" Frisk changed the subject.

"No. I like it."

"Move."

"I said n-o. It spells no."

"Fine."

Frisk sat down and pushed him to the side with her hips, forcing half of the beanie bag to be given to her. Sans flicked her ear in revenge.

When she looked back up Undyne was making on odd gesture to her mouth and poking the opposite side with her tongue at the same time. Alphys was looking down and suppressing giggles.

She instantly stopped when she saw Frisk staring quizzically at her.

Silver sighed.

"You truly are most inappropriate, Undyne."

"What! You can't argue."

"I can't, you're right about that." Silver's tone was rich with amusement.

"Argue about what?" Frisk tilted her head.

"Nothing." Undyne said hastily.

Frisk let it go and reached over to her bag.

"Sans, I got you something."

"Huh?"

Frisk handed him the Rockruff plush. He stared at it blankly.

"I know you like Rockruff and dogs and wolves and such. I thought you would like it…"

"Welp…. Thanks. You've been extra nice lately. Do you want something from me?" Sans said jokingly, taking the plush and looking it over. She stared hard into his eye sockets to try to find some sort of joy, but she still hadn't gotten the hang of reading his expressions.

"No. Though I do pity your illness. Feeling any better?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Sans leaned over and ruffled her hair, making Frisk bark in annoyance.

"Stay away from me, I don't want your sickness." Undyne glared at Sans.

"Misbehave and I'll touch you. Just a tap. And you'll get my germs. So behave."

"I don't have to listen to you!" Undyne flipped him off.

The ensuing spectacle had Sans attempt to touch Undyne only to be lifted and thrown into the other table. Needless to say Alphys needed new tables.

Eventually Frisk finally got an opportunity to leave once Undyne left. Silver left as well, though she had to go the opposite direction.

Frisk was lucky. She had a teleporting skeleton. She didn't need to walk far. But it was surprisingly late- dark now. Frisk didn't notice the time passing by.

Storm did the head turning thing that he did whenever they went through a shortcut.

Papyrus was running around frantically when they returned. He thought Frisk had gone to stay with Undyne and left him.

Sans eventually got him settled down and decided it was movie night. He made a ridiculous amount of popcorn and ended up eating it all himself because Frisk didn't eat popcorn and Papyrus was full.

It ended up being a not-Papyrus appropriate movie and Sans ended up tackling him to the floor and laying in his face to prevent the theft of innocence. Frisk thought he overreacted. Papyrus then went upstairs quietly and Frisk realized the skeleton could still see everything that was happening on the screen. Sans only covered his one eye.

Whoops.

She wasn't going to tell him.

Frisk put her feet on Sans as she laid down on the couch. Running around with Undyne had left her tired. Storm had been waiting for his opportunity and swooped in, curling up in her armpit.

Sans protested quietly to begin used as a footrest, but eventually got the idea and moved.

"Fine, fine, pushy. You want the TV off?" Sans asked. She wasn't too interested now that it was almost over and any funny bits were gone.

"…sure."

"K. Night. And keep your little pest outta my room. If I find him on me I'll have a nice new pair of fur gloves."

"Then I'll have a nice set of bones to chew on." Frisk countered as she closed her eyes.

Sans scoffed and she heard the TV click off.

She went to sleep as fast as possible to chase off the sinking feeling something was there, hiding in the dark.

Ready to erase.

* * *

… **this chapter sucked.**

 **Bleh :b**

 **probably some horrendous autocorrect mistakes too.**

 **It was long as balls, though. Fun fact, I was originally going to have Frisk like Supernatural. But I don't know the first thing about Supernatural, so… yeah. That's why I give Frisk interests I share or at least have some idea about. Well, in the entertainment department. I can't sing or dance. I actually hate dancing, especially when they make us square dance in gym. Kill me.**

 **We got some Satan Fish action in there though! And some more Silver! She was just tossed in there. Remember she's a lot older than everyone else- actually, she's old enough to be their mom because she's old enough to be Sans's. So she's more toned down than everyone else.**

 **I was supposed to just write the party and lead into the start of the dust arc, buuut. I decided to do the girl thing, and it ended up taking up the rest of the chapter. I think I'm just going to brush over it anyways. We have had enough Sans/Frisk bonding. Now time to tear it to tiny, miserable shreds!**

 **Like I said last chapter, I haven't been able to get to reviews lately. However I'm going to start with one I feel is important and maybe echoes some other feelings, I ask you all read my response to this one.**

iluvfanficXD:I wonder, why does frisk get tired from running? wolves are marathoners, and they can run for long periods of time when chasing prey, etc. Also, ive noticed this before... but uh.. Wolfos dont have claws. :c They are more related to dogs than anything, so yea, they have nails, but they dont have claws that can cause severe injuries liek that. ok ill go now.

 **Thank you for bringing this up! I wanted to say that I know that Frisk having "claws" isn't really too accurate with real life wolves. But. I gave her them anyways because one: it's just a stereotype among werewolf like characters, and that's kinda the category she falls into and two: just for my own convenience. Frisk is very weak in terms of just plain strength and she needs a way to fight when she doesn't have a weapon.**

 **As for the running thing, remember she's still human. And she isn't as attuned to the physical side as Sans is. Plus, she had that lung operation a few chapters ago :b**

 **And for Chara, I made a mistake in calling it a "wolf." It is pretty much a wolf, except horribly deformed and it doesn't have all the qualities of a wolf. Some of it is just bone or vines from Flowey. It does have claws, big ones. And a long, ugly looking tail (I don't think I said that but I'm drawing it currently, so…) it isn't completely Chara's soul, it's filled in by whatever the heck Flowey put in there and… Welp, it's not full wolf.**

 **Once again thanks for bringing it up, I just wanted to let everyone know that some inaccuracies are on purpose. I've read books upon books about wolfoes, but I'm just too lazy to write in yet another weapon for Frisk XD (Sans you turd)**

Laura:MERRY CHRISTMAS! I swear, you get better and better at writing with each chapter... Soon I won't have any words whatsoever to describe your writing, it'll be that good. Anyways, I'm very glad Chara made her appearance (Uh... Chara's a girl in this fanfiction, right? Eh, she is in MY head, so...). She's sort of the main villain in this fanfic I'm writing. By the way, how do you put stories on here? I have my own fanfiction I'm writing, but I don't know how or where to submit it to the public. Please help. Also, side note, I'm almost glad Storm didn't get to meet Chara. Poor kit would be a midnight snack for that demon. Thank you so much for writing this!

 **Thank you! Chara is a girl in this, just like Frisk.**

 **To put stories you need to make an account, then upload it to the doc editor. Then you can go into new story and follow directions there. Unfortunately like I said you need an account, so… if you ever need any help with beta reading or art or anything let me know, I'd be glad to help ;)**

SyntheticDesire.21:

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

oohhhhmmmyyyygoooosssshh i love this story omggg i can't its so cute aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 **Yas. The cuties.**

 **SHIP SHIP SHIP SHIP**

A Kea for Christmas:

Beating the heck outta an amalgamated wolf Chara. Excellent way to get into the holiday spirit.

;D

 **Might as well just made its dead body a Christmas tree if it wasn't disintegrated, lol. Papyrus wouldn't be too happy tho XD**

PaintedWarriorCat:

Ohh maaahh guuuurd, that ending scene! I loved it so much! I screamed so loud I think I woke up my family.

 **I loved writing it XD I have fallen for the ships.**

 **Sans you fool!**

 **Anyways, I hope you all found this chapter up to standard. Probably not but whatevs. I am now going to go draw some ship art of Twigbranch and Finpaw from Warriors and jack my brains out :D**

 **Have a safe and Happy New Years!**

 **From the Wolf in the mountains,**

 **Comycat~**


	31. Chapter 30- ErAsE

**I have a surprise! To make up for the… iffy update schedule as of late, I have three chapters at once! I will answer reviews and stuff in the last one, just so you know. Because they are all going up at about the same time. I really should have spaced it out, but this one was supposed to come out earlier. It was postponed because of snow and now I have all these chapters ready. Expect a clunky schedule for the rest of winter, due to things like weather.**

 **I completely skipped over the party, and everything between then. It's a really jarring and rushed timeskip, sorry. I had lost motivation at first but as I started writing and literally feeling the chills from this chapter (you'll see) I was like holy damn. I've been waiting for this forever lol.**

 **Poor, poor Frisky.**

 **Hope you weren't too attached to anything, at all. Ever.**

* * *

Frisk groaned and sat up. Where was she?

Last thing she remembered was crashing on the couch after the party at MTT. The Hotels still weren't open yet and Sans teleported them back. Not after going to five different places of course because he was drunk out of his mind.

Frisk was surprised _she_ was the one that crashed first, but then again this was her second experience with alcohol. But nevertheless it was fun. She didn't like all the people but there were plenty of uninhabited corners.

Now, though, she was in a land of black. The couch was gone. It was… like the void where she reset. Only she could feel a floor, and her own body. The silence was deafening.

Frisk blinked and shook her head. She was no longer fuzzy and light headed. She was back to normal. Was this a dream?

A flash of white caught her eye and she looked to the side. It was her spirit wolf.

She was snarling.

Frisk stood up and followed her eyes. It was staring at nothing.

Suddenly, she realized something was blended with the darkness. It was black, almost melting into the void.

It had no shape, but it started to gain one. One of a person.

Frisk felt an overwhelming sense of dread, chills running down her body.

" _Isn't it nice to meet again?"_

The voice seemed to come from everywhere. Frisk was wrong. This wasn't a dream.

It was too bone chilling to be real. She could feel every cell in her body screaming in terror, and she wanted to do the same.

"W-who are you! Where are w-we?"

The dark haze snapped.

Now stood a girl, who looked to be her age. Beside her, a large black wolf.

The girl had deep crimson eyes and chestnut brown hair to her chin. Her skin was sickly pale, though she had a bit of red to her cheeks. She wore a mangled heart locked around her neck and a green and yellow sweater.

She had a set of wolf ears and tail, just like her. Except, they were black.

The wolf was well muscled with similar red eyes. A blaze of dirty white stood out on its forehead among its black body.

Frisk gulped.

It looked like the amalgamated wolf…

The girl smiled, showing off sharp teeth.

" _You already know me, and I already know you, Frisk."_

Frisk's ears flattened.

"No, I don't know you!"

" _I am Chara. You know that, silly white wolf."_

"Ch-Chara?" Frisk blinked.

She remembered Flowey's cowering face.

The first fallen human…

Chara blinked slowly, and her gaze was chilling.

" _Yes, you've finally gotten it. How very smart, white wolf."_

"White wolf?" Frisk had meant to think it, but the thought suddenly verbalized.

Chara chuckled deeply.

" _Here we meet at the boundaries of your mind and the physical realm. Your thoughts are just as real as your words. And your soul is a white wolf, is it not? Shining with kindness and mercy… save for the one splotch of darkness, that is."_

Frisk took a breath.

"…" Frisk stared at Chara, trying to find what it was about her…

"Why are you here?" She finally asked.

Chara crossed her arms and closed her eyes.

" _I was given form after being shattered in the Core. However, being shattered with that much Determination allowed the pieces of my soul to pull together and stay in this world, albeit as a spirit. This form is not… suitable, for me. Not for my… plan."_

"Plan? What do you want, and why am I involved?" Frisk bristled. She didn't like any of this. She just wanted to go back, back to the warm couch.

" _I made a plan, long ago. A plan to save this world. In this world, destruction is on the same coin as creation, only on different sides. This world is ruined. By human filth, by darkness. I wish to create a world of my own… a perfect world. And to do that…_ "

Frisk felt increasing panic as a static noise hit her ears. It sounded like a broken TV, and it was more deafening than the silence from before. It sent a cold terror deep down to her core, and cold sweat was beading up on her neck.

Chara's form began to glitch, like a broken video game.

" _ **I need to ERASE!**_ _"_

Chara opened her eyes. Black liquid ran down her cheeks, and the wolf beside her snarled.

Frisk's breathing hitched as she took a step back.

"Y-y… you can't…no… s-stop!"

Her eyes were wide with terror, and her heart slammed against her ribs, like it was trying to escape from this _demon_.

Chara took a step forward.

" _Oh my precious white wolf… so precious, so innocent. The answer is never mercy. To get anywhere, to get anything, something must be lost. Even if that is this world… to gain LOVE, we must_ _ **K I L L.**_ _KkkiLl EeveRyTinG hEerrErr!"_ Static flashed over her face as her voice changed, glitched.

Frisk raised her arm protectively.

"Stay away from me!"

Chara kept on approaching, and Frisk scrambled back in desperate terror.

The wolf beside Frisk followed, cowering as Chara's wolf bared her fangs.

" _WwhaT's wRonG Wh|t£ W0Lf? YyUo wonT F3El thIIINg!"_

"I SAID STAY BACK!" Frisk screamed. The static sound was roaring now, and she covered her ears to try and block it out.

" _cCowArd!"_

Chara took one step too close.

Without a second thought, Frisk made her hand into a fist and threw it at Chara as hard she could, using all of her body behind it.

Chara's form faded slightly as her arm went right through.

Frisk fell to the ground.

There was a huge yellow star in front of her now. It had a red center, and a faint red glow seeped through the rest of the star as it fluttered.

" _This is the }UlTrA SssAv3. It exists here, only. Now."_

Frisk felt a foot press into her back, and her heart leaped.

"Oh no oh no oh no…" Frisk's frantic thoughts came out as words.

Chara bent down to her ear, and whispered into it.

" _ **Time to RESET."**_

Frisk lost all feeling of her body as everything faded away in front of her eyes.

…

Frisk smelled something sweet in the air. A floral scent.

Everything was cold.

 _Why am I so cold?_ Frisk asked. She had the feeling she was warm a little bit ago. Where was she? Did she die while falling down the hole?

Frisk opened her eyes.

She was laying in a patch of big powder blue flowers. It was soft.

A shaft of sunlight reached down from the roof, warming her face.

Frisk tried to move her hand and bring it up to her head.

Only, she couldn't move.

Her heart jumped as she tried harder. Her arm felt like led. It wouldn't…

 _ **Since when were you in control?**_

Everything came rushing back.

 _I'm… I'm… this is… no… please, oh god no!_

She was back…

Did she just erase everything?

 _Everything?_

Frisk felt a horrible wave of pain and grief.

Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Rocky…

Sans…

Everything was gone.

Suddenly, Frisk stood up.

She didn't move her own body, though…

She could feel her body, but someone else was moving it. Like a puppet.

 _Ch-Chara? Are you…_

 _ **Yes. This vessel… it's in my control now.**_

Chara brought her hand up and wiped Frisky forehead.

Frisk couldn't cry. All this pain, and she couldn't cry…

 _N-no… p-please, bring it back, PLEASE!_

 _ **Why? You won't have to do anything. I will kill for you, dear white wolf.**_

There was a tiny meow from below.

Chara turned her head down.

 _Storm? How is he…_

It was the little kitten. He looked scared and confused.

 _ **Hmmm, seems the kitten has an anti-time ability. He retains his memory and stays nearest the person he was with last. Too bad it's useless.**_

 _Don't hurt him… please…_ Frisk begged.

Chara smirked, and Frisk felt her mouth twisting against her will.

 _ **Don't worry, it's not worth it. Completely useless…**_

Storm padded Frisk's foot, meowing again.

Chara kicked him off without a second thought and began walking down the hallway.

Frisk felt another pang of pain.

 _Storm… I love you… I'm sorry. Please know this isn't me, please…_

The kitten cried out questioningly before following, but keeping a distance. He was unsure.

Flowey was where he had first been.

"… Chara? Is that you?" His eyes scanned Frisk's face.

Chara grinned.

"Yes. I have taken this vessel as my own. To… save this world."

Flowey smirked.

"I'm glad it's you this time! Then, let's go… what a wonderful idea, friend!"

Flowey disappeared with an ear splitting laugh.

Frisk was cold to the bone.

 _What are you going to do…_ she whimpered.

 _ **You will see soon, White Wolf. You will not be white much longer.**_

Chara waited. Soon, Asgore came.

Frisk felt a rush of nostalgia and sadness seeing the old kings face. So kind…

"Oh? A human! Are you alright, little one?" He rushed over.

Chara was still smiling.

 _ **Watch close, wolf.**_

Chara had a blade.

Where did she have a blade?!

It seemed to materialize from nothing, and there was a slight pain in Frisk's fingertips from it being summoned.

Frisk felt a growing horror and tried again to move. But she was trapped down, her body controlled by Chara now.

She was powerless as Chara raised the blade and cut across Asgore's throat in a single swipe.

His eyes widened and he fell to his knees, blood pouring from his torn throat. Blood dripped for, his mouth.

She could do nothing as the light in his kind eyes faded and his body turned to dust.

…

Sans woke with a start.

He felt disoriented…

What day was it? Saturday, right? He just came home from a party… no, that was wrong. It was supposed to be Monday!

Sans groaned and rubbed his head. He grabbed his phone and turned it on, wincing at the light.

No, it was certainly Monday.

The skeleton sat up, realizing his clothes were different.

Wait, hadn't that shirt gotten ruined by blood?

Sans froze.

No… it couldn't be…

Everything came back. Frisk. The human. Everything that happened between them…

Sans couldn't move as he realized.

 _Reset._

Sans rushed out of bed faster than he ever had before.

"FRISK!?"

He looked over the railing down into the living room.

The couch was empty.

Papyrus came out of his room, looking puzzles.

"What is it brother? You look frightened! Did you have a bad dream? What is a Frisk?"

Sans looked down, eye sockets wide.

"N-nothing, bro… I'm cool. Just need a little snack, that's all."

"Well, hurry up! We've gotta get to Snowdin Forest to keep watch for humans!"

Sans walked back into his room and laid his head in his hands, shaking.

It was worse than he thought…

Why would she do this to him? Was she unhappy? Or…

What if something happened with the resets, and-

The thought left Sans cold to the bone.

…

He remembered how much of a pain that door was.

It hurt to lean against. But, better than nothing, right?

He stared intently ahead, listening to try and hear her coming.

She'd come, right?

What if it was a few days before she got out?

Sans shook himself.

No, she'd come today, he knew it.

She had to.

It felt like days he was there in the soft falling snow, waiting… waiting…

Sans jolted as he sensed something.

It was quiet footsteps… almost silent. They didn't sound like Frisk's, but…

They had to be.

Just in case Sans hurried behind a tree, peering out from the shadows.

The door groaned as it was pushed open.

Frisk rushed out. She was back in her old sweater, though it looked a little gray…

Was that dust?

Sans shook his head and rubbed his eye sockets. No… this was Frisk. She wouldn't have monster dust on her. Must be dirt.

Frisk was moving differently. Frisk normally moved with overthought steps, not naturally paced. This was calm yet brisk, full of purpose. It reminded him of one animal hunting another.

Sans swallowed and began to follow. He got behind her at the bridge, just like last time.

She froze, just like last time. He sensed no fear.

"Human… Frisk. Remember me?"

Something was wrong. Something screamed in his skull. Something was chilling him down to the marrow. He could see his ghost wolf from the corner of his eye, and he wasn't happy.

"Turn around… buddy." Sans's voice was quiet.

Her ears twitched slightly, and for a moment Sans swore they turned black.

Frisk turned around slowly.

Sans's breath stopped.

It was Frisk, but… so, so different. Her eyes were no longer that deep shade of green he couldn't get enough of… they were _red._ Crimson red. Her right eye wasn't a normal human eye, it was an actual wolf eye. Black and all. Black liquid dropped from it and ran down her cheeks.

She had a small grin and a darkness in her eyes that made him start shaking unconsciously.

"Of course I do."

* * *

 **OH NO**

 **HIT THE ABORT BUTTON, MISSION ABORT MISSION ABORT**

 **Dear god are things going down hill. I actually got goosebumps thinking of Chara… ugh.**

 **Scawy woof.**

 **Just so you know when it says Chara, it's referring to Frisk's body being controlled by Chara.**

 **Welcome to the genocide.**

 **I was thinking of actually having the rest through Sans's pov. Because there's not too much point in writing everything in from Frisk's POV. Just major deaths… until a certain point.**

 **What will happen? Stay tuned :)**


	32. Chapter 31-Something to fight for

**I don't know how I should do this. I don't want to write it all from Frisk's perspective, but I don't want to do it all from Sans's perspective either. I am leaning more towards Sans since we already know the deal with Frisk/Chara. I don't know…**

 **I hope I didn't horribly screw it up, lol.**

* * *

"Of course I do."

Her voice was _cold._

Sans took a step back, bones shaking so bad they were clacking together.

"What… what happened to you?" His eyes were wide. He could see her soul wolf now too, and it was splotched in black. It held her same look, baring its teeth in a cruel snarl.

No breath billowed from her mouth. Her skin was paler than usual.

"Nothing, comedian. Nothing at all." She turned and started walking away.

 _Is that… really Frisk?_ Sans's mind was at war with itself.

He took a small step forward.

"Frisk! Wait! Nothing my ass! Why did you do this?!" His voice had an edge to it now. He was hurt… and pissed.

If this was Frisk, _what the fuck was she doing?_

If not, _who the fuck did this to his Frisk?_

Frisk stopped momentarily.

"Why, I'm saving you. I'm saving this wretched world."

She continued walking.

"What do you mean?! What the fu-"

A tiny mew cut him off.

Sans turned to find Storm- how was he here?- huddled in the snow, blue eyes wide. He was shaking.

 _Storm? How is he… timeline inaccuracies?_

Sans glanced from the shaking kitten to the quickly disappearing form of Frisk.

Frisk wouldn't… leave Storm, right? She loved the little furball. She'd never…

 _It can't be her. It can't be._ Sans told himself firmly. But his eyes wouldn't believe him…

He bent down and picked up the cold kitten.

"Looks like it's up to you an' me to figure this out, huh?" He said sadly.

Storm just gazed forlornly after Frisk, and if cats could cry Sans was sure he'd be right now.

…

Sans paced in his room, unable to rest. His soul ached, and his mind spun.

Storm sat on his bed. He didn't care anymore. He had more… important things to worry about.

Why did she reset? What had happened to her eyes? Was it her? It had to be her. But it couldn't be…

It hurt so bad. Sans really, really wanted to distract himself with some pain, but…

He had to stop that. He had talked to Frisk, he had to stop hurting himself.

 _But Frisk's gone._

He just wanted to wake up in bed again and find this was all a dream. He wanted to kill that damn human and hold her close at the same time.

Storm's eyes followed him as he paced around his messy room, stepping over clothes and other trash. The kitten had been uncharacteristically shy and quiet. The thing must be scarred for life.

Sans looked out the window. It was getting dark.

It was around the time Papyrus had brought the human back last time…

Wait.

 _That wasn't the right human._

Sans froze. His bones locked in dread.

Something screamed at him, intuition.

Something was _wrong._

 _Horribly._

Sans dashed out the door the second time that day, going as fast as his skeleton legs could take him.

 _Gotta tell Paps to stay away, Gotta get him home, gotta figure out this mess._

He noticed Snowdin was oddly empty.

The wind blowed as he neared the bridge.

He looked down and realized there were footsteps through the snow, Frisk's.

Crunching distracted him.

He turned around briskly.

"Paps- oh…"

It was Rocky. His eyes were low and sad.

"Are you Sans?"

"Yeah. I don't have time, I'm looking for-"

"Everyone who has gone into Snowdin Forest today was found dead." The dog said flatly. "The Royal Guard has received orders to prevent any pedestrians from going in and to investigate. They say a human was sighted."

Sans felt his soul go cold.

 _What?_

Papyrus couldn't… Frisk would never…

Why hadn't he thought of this before!?

Sans turned and started sprinting, ignoring the dog completely.

no No NO!

 _Paps can't be dead a second time!_

He kept going, though it got darker and darker…

He stopped as a blaze of red came into view just beyond the ice puzzle.

He walked up to his brothers remains… feeling like he was in a trance.

Papyrus's scarf shook with the cold wind, and the snow was stained gray with dust. Most of it had blown away.

Sans dropped to his knees, feeling like his soul was being ripped apart.

Dear god, did he want to end it. He wanted it to stop, he wanted to _die!_

But all he could think of was determined green eyes telling him everything would be okay and familiar hands pulling the bone away from his soul.

…

Chara yawned. Frisk was tired.

She couldn't understand. Frisk couldn't understand.

Her soul felt like it was being torn in two. She couldn't stop thinking of Papyrus, his kind face, his arms outstretched in acceptance as Chara had-

Wait, didn't she do that?

It was her body, she could feel every move. She could feel the dust on her hands. She could feel the tiredness in her limbs, though… she had started to feel an odd numbness in her body.

It was the worst feeling ever to feel so much pain, to hurt so much inside and not be able to cry or do anything to release it. She was a puppet.

Chara had laughed. Laughed over his dust. Had Frisk laughed?

She wanted to go back.

Chara played with the blade, running Frisk's finger along the edge. It left a small cut, blood dripping from the tiny wound.

Chara smiled and licked the cut.

 _ **How lovely. I can hardly feel a thing, can you?**_

Frisk didn't respond.

 _ **I have made astounding progress. My LOVE has gone up significantly… well, I guess it's your LOVE too. Really, this is all yours. This blood, this body… these sins.**_ Chara chuckled and looked back down at the fire she had built.

Frisk couldn't stand it. But she couldn't do anything about it.

She would have shuddered if she could, thinking off all the dust, all the blood…

There was rustling ahead.

Chara looked up, smile never leaving her lips.

 _ **Oh? Another treat? How delightful…**_

Frisk felt her soul drop as Rocky came out from the brush.

She didn't know if she wished to see recognition on his face, or for him to never remember her again.

 _Rocky… run!_ Frisk realized Chara was moving her body.

Rocky held up his spear.

"By the name of the Royal Guard, Human, you are required to come with me!" Any friendliness she remembered was gone.

Chara stood.

Rocky took this as a surrender and walked over, sniffing.

 _Rocky, No!_ Frisk tired to talk. It was no use…

"You know, little dog… maybe you'll find a mate… in another life!"

Rocky tilted his head before realizing and trying to leap away as Chara swung at him.

Frisk wished she could close her eyes or turn away.

Rocky didn't deserve this. Papyrus didn't deserve this.

No one deserved this.

…

Sans couldn't tell if hours or days passed. Everything was hazy and gray. Nothing seemed bright anymore, and the silence in the house was too loud.

Storm didn't meow or cry anymore. The kitten just sat next to him and stared blankly at the wall.

Frisk had done so much to save Papyrus before… even killed herself to reset. Why would she kill him with her own hand now?

The TV was on. At least it was a tiny distraction, though… he couldn't focus on it for long. He had a vague thought he should probably eat or drink something… but he couldn't muster the energy to get up.

Not like the thought of food was appealing anymore.

Mettaton was rather grim for the news, and Sans couldn't blame him. He noticed this was the same clip from earlier this morning. Must not be anything new to comment on.

" _A human has been spotted once around Snowdin. They are confirmed to be the one involved in the recent mass murder of many monsters in the regions of Snowdin and surrounding. Many Royal Guard members have been killed, as well as brave passerby such as a monster named Undyne, whose sacrifice has allowed us to confirm through leftover blood in the area of the fight. Monsters are urged to follow Doctor Alphys and Captain Dogamy into shelter at once, and to not go out alone. They human was last sighted in westward Blizzardland."_

Sans huffed. Yet another past friend lost to… whoever the hell. All logic dictated it was Frisk, but… his heart wouldn't let him believe it.

"… pathetic, huh. I let my guard down… and this is what I get. That's where caring gets you." Sans grumbled, perhaps to Storm or just no one in particular. He was actually somewhat grateful for the kittens company… it felt like he was going through the same thing Sans was. And frankly, he had nothing to hide from anyone anymore…

His phone started to ring again, and he knew who it was. Alphys had been calling and calling.

Storm looked down at his pocket and padded it with his paw.

Sans looked down numbly. It was getting annoying…

He finally pulled it out with as minimal effort as possible and hit receive call.

"…what." He was sure his voice was as hollow as he felt.

"Oh my god, Sans… finally. I was getting worried…" Alphys sounded clogged. No doubt from Undyne's death.

"About what? Tons of other people died already, what's it matter if another joins 'em."

"Sans! Don't talk l-like that! L-look… I k-know how you feel… I… I-I'm sorry about… but I w-was looking through my data, a-a-and s-something's not right… time is all m-messed u-up…"

"Figures. I know that already."

"I-I know… so… I-I need to a-ask you something…"

"Alphys, I'm staying here." Sans growled.

It sounded like Alphys was pacing on the other side.

"That's n-not… w-we need y-your help… Silver i-is d-dead, a-and the human is getting closer to t-the capital… Mettaton is a-waiting for t-them… b-but he s-says he can only s-stall… we need you, Sans… to help us."

Sans closed his eyes.

"So you want me to fix your mess?"

"N-no… We need you to save monsterkind, Sans. Y-you're the strongest…."

"King?"

"H-he's guarding the s-souls…"

"Cause he's a coward. He doesn't want to leave that damn throne."

"Sans, please…" Alphys was crying now, he could hear horribly suppressed sobs on the other side. "I-I know how much Papyrus m-meant to y-you… but doesn't e-"

"You don't get it! He wasn't the only thing I lost! And There's nothing I can do!" Sans yelled, making Storm jump in surprise.

Alphys was quiet for a moment.

"B-but S-Sans…"

"But nothing! You'll never get it! I'm the only one who ever will, and you don't understand how painful that is! So just let me suffer in peace! Either fix your own fucking problems for once or just deal with it!"

Storm was cowering at the opposite side of the couch.

"… at least I try, Sans. A b-bystander who does nothing is just as guilty as the criminal… I c-can't force you… but I feel like this is just as important to you as it is to the rest of monsterkind. Goodbye, Sans."

The phone clicked off as Alphys ended the call.

Sans let the phone slip out of his hand.

He shouldn't feel anything now…

So why did he feel so much pain?!

Storm mewed quietly and looked at him with his wide blue eyes. Sans could see his ghost wolf form on the other side.

Sans grabbed his skull forcefully.

Damn these animals…

Sans felt a twinge of anger.

 _She_ was the reason he was like this!

But… was it her?

He needed to know…

Sans groaned and forced himself up, and the kitten followed him silently.

…

Frisk would never had guessed Mettaton could be so… selfless? Brave? Neither?

She never thought he could transform, either… he looked almost like the statues in MTT, except with wings and cannons… leopard parts and all.

But Chara had gotten too strong. One blow was all that was needed.

Frisk's body felt like ice. Numb, cold. She had been cold ever since Chara took over… no warmth.

Frisk had stopped struggling a long time ago. Chara was getting stronger and stronger… the more she struggled the more it hurt. Undyne had been by far the toughest… she had an unnatural amount of Determination for a monster. She just wouldn't die… Frisk had hoped that Undyne would kill her. But no- Chara kept going till Undyne died of her own Determination.

Silver had been almost as tough. In the rough Blizzardland, fighting in the snow… Frisk had thought Silver would win, but...

The dog pack came. The second Chara looked at them they had fought alongside her and tore Silver to shreds…

Toriel's dying face was etched into her mind, so full of guilt and grief…

Chara stepped over the shards of metal left from Mettaton, some of them cutting through Frisk's worn down shoes and cutting her foot. It didn't hurt… Frisk didn't know what was happening. Chara had called it EXP and LOVE… she didn't know what that meant. Frisk didn't care…

She just wanted to fade away.

Everything she had worked so hard to save, the people she had grown so close too…

All gone in the span of about three days.

Chara hardly ever stopped to rest. Frisk's body was tired and battered from all the walking and fighting… but the growing numbness had started covering that as well.

They went through an elevator beyond the end of the Core. It was a long, melancholy ride… the elevator spat and rumbled in effort to make the journey.

It was so cold out here…

The elevator finally sputtered to a stop, and Chara walked out silently. Frisk didn't know her body could be this quiet, but… it made sense when being controlled by a spirit.

The path they arrived on was long and narrow, held above what she assumed was the capital. Everything was quiet and empty… what she had thought was the life of the underground was lifeless. There was no snow here, only ridiculously freezing air and harsh wind.

The path was made out of rough blue bricks. It was long and winding, leading up to a pointed building. Behind it Frisk could see a magnificent blue tower, cracked and ancient looking. It got darker and darker as it reached up, and she couldn't see the top that disappeared into the darkness.

 _ **Finally… the Royal Tower…a top it sits the king and the Wolf stone… also known as the Crystal of the Moon… there, I will reach the peak of my power… and with it, we can erase this world…**_

"Hey, Chara!"

 _Flowey…_

Flowey popped up by Chara as she kept walking, through the winding hallways. There was a stairway that lead down to a lower level that looked like Asgore's basement.

Flowey followed, going into the ground and popping back up a few feet away.

"This is so exciting… hehehehe… you know Chara, I'm glad you're back. I remember… when I first woke up, after being dusted. I was so afraid, Chara. I had no arms, no legs… I cried out for help. But… _nobody came._ "

 _What? What is he…_ Frisk didn't understand. What did he mean? What sort of past did Chara and Flowey share… made sense, the two evilest people she knew also knew each other.

Chara kept walking, virtually ignoring the flower.

"Eventually, Dad came. I told him what happened, and… he took me back. But, I couldn't feel anything. No love, or joy, or happiness… I had no emotions, Chara. So I went to her… I thought Mom of all people would be able to make me feel, but… she failed."

 _Dad? Mom? Flowers have parents?_

"So I went to join you again… but as I left this mortal world, I thought- what happens after you die? I got scared, and, suddenly, I was back in the garden. Where I first woke up. I had Reset. I found I had full control of the timeline. I could Save and Reset and Load. I have read every book, and burned every book. I've done everything this world has to offer… but I never could predict you! I've been waiting for you… trying to bring you back… and failed, time and time again. And… you know, now that I think about it… just living on the surface with you, Chara… that seems okay."

Chara stopped. Frisk could feel a dark aura around her…

 _Flowey… this is all your fault and I hate you… but you might want to leave… She'll kill you… and everyone. She killed everyone._

"The best thi- hey. What's with the face?" Flowey asked.

 _ **You… have forgotten… wretched creature. You are nothing to me…**_

Flowey couldn't hear Chara talking in her head, but he started to shake.

"S-stay back! Chara, what… wait… you're still not the Chara I knew, are you? I don't like this anymore! Just… just go back! Chara?" Chara took a step forward.

"GO BACK!" Flowey shouted before fleeing underground.

Chara dismissed him with a huff.

 _ **Worthless coward.**_

 _He… he really likes you… and he looked up to you. Is that why he did all this, for a demon like you?_ Frisk asked nastily.

 _ **I don't know him. He is not Asriel. He is simply a soulless flower. Nothing more. And I may be a demon… but at least I don't come when called, like you, White Wolf.**_

Frisk wondered who Asriel was while mentally wincing.

Did she… did she kill them? Was it Chara, or her?

 _Is this hate I feel mine? All this… is it mine?_

Chara walked on in the silence. The footsteps echoed through the emptiness.

They turned and entered a huge hall. The floor was made of shiny pale blue panels, and the walls out of the same blue bricks as the path. The hall was lined with windows to one side. It was dark outside, so the only light was the bright blue flames from the torches mounted on each of the pillars lining the walls. Little blue dots of magic danced through the air carefree, as if the horrible darkness of the world around them was nothing more than an illusion.

There was someone standing in the hall.

Frisk's soul leaped as she realized who it was in cold terror.

 _Sans._

* * *

…

 **0-0**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Help me.**

 **This got so dark and I love it. And hate it.**

 **Frisk doesn't know wtf to think anymore and neither does Sans. Also… theorize whatever you will about Alphys, and what the end of her phone call meant ;).**

 **Remember Frisk has no idea who Asriel is.**

 **Get ready for a bad tiiiiiiiime, next chapter!**

 **Listening to Jenny's fan cover of megolovania is also a just for next chapter. It's actually how I imagine Frisk's voice to be like. Well, as close to the voice in my head for her anyways. How do the characters come off in your head?**

 **R.I.P: Rocky, Papyrus, Silver, Toriel, Mettaton, Asgore, all the other monsters, Sans and Frisk's friendship and possibly Flowey's roots because if flowers could pee he'd have peed his roots back then XD**


	33. Chapter 32- And nothing to lose but you

**The end of this fight could be taken as a really kinky, violent make out session. People on top of the other, sweating, desperate, biting… naw, they're just trying to kill one another :D**

 **I ruined it I'm sorry**

* * *

Frisk felt a rush of dread.

Oh no.

 _Sans, leave, please. Please leave, please leave, go, you need to go! She'll kill you, she'll kill you!_

Chara stopped calmly in front of the skeleton.

"…you've been busy, huh?" His voice was hollow. It sent a jab of pain through Frisk's soul.

He looked up, eyes empty and dark. She could see dark spots under them, and his bones looked paler than last time she had seen him.

"…who are you?"

Chara chuckled, and Frisk hated that her body was too.

"You already know, skeleton."

She saw Sans grind his teeth.

"You can't be Frisk. Frisk would never…."

Chara held up her arms at her side, knife in one hand. Sans's eyes followed it suspiciously.

"A wolf is a fickle thing around prey. Set one loose in a chicken pen… he may be trained to not attack. But his mouth waters watching the little chickens run by… one day, he will snap and kill every last chicken in the pen. Never say never when referring to a Wolf and his prey…"

Sans balled up his fist.

"You killed them all. Rocky, Silver, Undyne… Papyrus. You were their friend. Papyrus gave up his dream for you, and you killed him." It sounded like Sans should be yelling, but his voice was level. He stared at her hard, and Frisk hoped he could see the real Frisk by doing so… and run.

"They were in the way. Just as you are now."

"In the way of what?"

"How stupid and small sighted… you are in the way of the rebirth of this world. I will erase it… erase this dark world. You would have no qualms, would you… being killed or erased." Chara smirked, and Frisk felt an unbound _rage._ "After all, you've lost the one thing dear to you in this world."

"No." Sans growled. "You're wrong. You… you were important to me too. Almost as dear as Papyrus. You had no idea…"Frisk felt a tug on her soul as pain crept into his voice, and she would give almost anything to cry… and anything to tell him to run before he got hurt.

"You have no idea how much I cared about you." Sans lifted his arm to wipe his eyes, and she realized he was crying. " I should… should have never trusted you…told you anything… I should have never made that promise, I should have killed you the moment I saw you."

Chara tightened her fingers around the knife. The muscles in her arm tensed. For a spilt second, Frisk could see the image of a small, white goat child, with wide blue eyes. But as soon as it came, it faded back into dark red.

 _No!_ Frisk wanted to scream. _Sans, please! It's not me… it's not…_

Sans put his arm down, and his eye blazed to life, brilliant cobalt glowing in the dark hallway.

"No… I still don't know. I don't think I'll ever give myself a clear answer to who you are. But… take another step forward… and you are gonna have a bad time."

Chara smiled and did just that- a tiny, teasing step towards him.

Frisk knew that face.

 _Sans is going to attack… no…_

"So be it. Cold day outside, huh? Wind is howling… air is chilling… on days like this… mutts like you…" the ground shook as Gaster Blasters materialized behind him.

" _Should be freezing in hell!_ "

Chara was thrown into the air, spun, as bones came towards her from all directions. Frisk felt her body being lurched about as Chara defended and dodged the attacks.

The Blasters came up as she fell to the ground, opening their mouths and spewing blue energy. Chara easily jumped and dodged them, light and nimble.

Frisk's body wasn't fully behind the book though, and Chara yelped as she tripped and was grazed by the blue.

Frisk felt weak. She knew her body was weak and battered. Chara couldn't feel it though, could she?

Chara growled and jumped at Sans, though he easily dodged.

"What, you think imma stand here and take it? Think again."

Frisk felt a bone hit her in the stomach, and she was sure one of her ribs cracked. Chara gasped and was thrown back, rolling on the floor before springing up.

Chara attacked again, but Sans was fast.

"You can't understand how this feels… fighting you like this."

Chara jumped a group of bones, then sidestepped as another came hurtling from a different direction.

Sans was trying to keep her away, she realized.

"I never thought I would be fighting you. Guess nothing's impossible, huh?"

Chara slashed at a Gaster Blaster, who had appeared in front of her. It moved out of the way and opened its jaw, readying its laser.

Chara avoided it just in time.

Wave after wave of bones came and went, and it was all a daze. Dodge, attack, dodge… Sans was going all out. But…

She could see sweat on his skull now.

Frisk hoped he got her before…

Chara yelled out in frustration and slashed at Sans again. He was slower this time, the blade slicing the corner of his jacket.

He snapped his fingers and sent her crashing into a wall with his blue magic.

Chara was frustrated as all hell, and Frisk could feel that.

That wasn't a good thing.

Chara was getting more and more Determination… and Sans was getting tired. She knew how little of this he could do before being worn out, and he was pouring every last bit of magic he had into this fight. It wouldn't be long before he…

Frisk couldn't see another one die.

 _I can't see Sans die!_

Frisk pulled back with all of her might as Chara went to move forwards. Chara inhaled sharply as she stumbled… did Frisk do that?

Frisk felt a rush of pain as the bone Chara was trying to avoid pierced her arm. It went through and stayed there, and Chara cried out in pain.

She shouldn't be able to feel pain…

 _Am I… actually doing something?_

 _ **No! STOP!**_

The numbness was pulsing… like a light flickering. Between waves Frisk was overwhelmed by the pain and weariness in her body… especially in her right eye. It felt… different than before.

Frisk tired to move again, and Chara screeched in resistance. She fell to the floor, and Frisk felt her soul raise a little in hope.

 _I am doing something! My body must be too beat up and Chara's control is weakened._

 _ **STOP IT NOW!**_

Sans had stopped and was staring at her. His eyes were wide.

"…W-what… Frisk?"

 _I am not going to stop, Chara! I may not be able to… to fix this, but at least I can get us killed!_

 _ **NO! I REFUSE TO RETURN TO THE ULTRA SAVE AFTER ALL THIS PROGRESS! THIS WORLD MUST BE ERASED, YOU FOOL! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!**_

Ultra save? That giant save in the void…

Could she return?

The very thought made Chara screech.

Chara's rage was overwhelming, and Frisk actually blacked out for a second. The world was spinning, and she didn't know what was happening or what she was doing.

Suddenly, Frisk's body lurched and started to throw up dark liquid that looked like what had been leaking from Chara before.

Sans was at her side now.

"Your eyes… they're… Frisk?"

She looked up, panting. Her head moved with her, and she flinched at the feeling.

There was an overwhelming burning pain in her right eye, and Frisk screamed and clawed at it. It hurt it hurt it HURT!

Just as fast as the control came, Frisk felt it slip. She couldn't move again

Chara snarled and leaped at Sans, knife forgotten somewhere on the floor. Sans yelped as he was rolled over, and Chara bit into his arm as hard as Frisk's body would allow. She could feel the bone crack under her teeth.

Sans snarled and clocked her in the side of the head, sending her rolling over across the hall. Frisk blacked out for a split second again, and within heartbeats Sans was on her, teeth buried in her shoulder. She could hear him growling and Chara hit and kicked at him, trying to get him off.

Chara managed to get Frisk's leg under him and pushed him off, then leaped again, slamming his head against a nearby pillar. He yelped and his left eye stopped blazing, closing it as blood ran down his skull.

The next second she was sent reeling to the floor after being hit _hard_ in the face by Sans's fist. Being punched by bone _hurt._ She was pretty sure her nose was broken.

Sans was back on her, fangs exposed and ready. Chara raised her arm, ready to claw at Sans until he got off…

The world was spinning and blurring. Chara had said something, but Frisk suddenly couldn't hear it…

It hurt so bad…

Frisk pulled her hand down, feeling it finally obey after some struggling.

Her body felt light and her head was on fire… she could only stare up as Sans readied to bite her exposed neck.

She squeezed her eyes shut and heard a distant garble of Chara's voice.

 _I don't know where I'll end up, but… it's better this way…_

She waited for teeth to sink into her throat… but they never came.

Frisk opened her left eye, keeping her right closed tightly.

Sans's eyes were wide again, and they peered into her own.

"F-frisk?"

Frisk winced and whimpered, covering her rights eye with her hand. A hot liquid was coming from it.

"S-Sans, p-please, just finish I-it… I d-don't know h-how much longer I c-can…" she whimpered again, fidgeting slightly. "It h-hurts…".

Sans grabbed her shoulders, eye lights returning. They expanded.

"Oh my… oh my god… it… it really wasn't you, was it. Frisk, I… I'm so…"

Frisk shook him off.

"Sans, Stop! Just kill me before she comes back!" Frisk's heart was racing. _This needs to happen, it needs to happen now…_

"I…" sans shrunk back. Frisk sat up, groaning.

"I can't… Frisk, I can't… not anymore… not after knowing…"

Frisk felt it waning. Chara was fighting hard, and it was all she could do to push the screaming voice out of her head.

"Sans, I'm begging you, please… it's either you or me…" Frisk took a sharp breath, trembling. "Chara… Chara took my body, and… please Sans, I don't want anyone else to die, please…"

Sans looked up, tears forming in his eye sockets. She could hear his bones shaking.

"I… I don't know… Frisk, I don't want to kill you…"

"You were fine with it before!" Frisk snapped. It was so painful…

"That's because I wasn't sure! Now I am, and… Frisk…"

Frisk's muscles were twitching painfully.

 _ **GIVE IT BACK!**_

Frisk shook her head, trying to push the darkness back.

"Sans… I'm going to ask one more time… please… I'm begging you, please kill me… for all of them. For Papyrus… I'm… going to try… to load a Save. She… uhnnn… never saved… I-if I can…"

Frisk couldn't talk anymore. She grabbed at her face and whined once again. It was too overwhelming…

Everything faded in and out of focus like a camera, including her control.

It was falling…

 _Why isn't… he doing it yet?!_ Frisk thought desperately.

Sans squeezed his eyes shut.

"Frisk… Frisk, I'm…"

Chara jerked back control and leaped at Sans in unharnessed rage.

His eye flashed and there was a sudden burst of blue.

She felt something burry itself into her chest, going through. She didn't process anything for a few seconds as her body fell limp to the ground.

 _ **NO! DaAMmm|T!**_

Frisk was back again, and she took in small gasps of air. Everything felt so light and fragile… like her reality could shatter at any moment.

"Fr… oh no… Frisk, I'm sorry…" Sans whimpered.

Frisk coughed up blood.

It hurt so much, but… she couldn't focus on that now.

"Sa…ans….thank…y…ou…"

Frisk closed her eyes and tried to muster all the Determination she could.

She remembered the light leaving Asgore's eyes, Papyrus's mercy. Rocky's commitment to his people, Undyne's heroism, Toriel's heartbreak, Silver's calm courage as she was ripped apart by a pack of dogs. Mettaton putting everything he held dear aside to face her, knowing he would die.

It filled her with DETERMINATION.

Frisk felt the world around her fade.

She reached for her Save.

She saw it appear, the huge yellow star, red pulsing from the center.

 _ **nO!**_

Chara tried to pull her back, pull her Determination down.

Frisk gave one last push and felt the world being washed in white.

* * *

 **You didn't think I got rid of 29 chapters of characters and story, did you? ;b**

 **There are some tiny cues here and there about Chara! Keep watch!**


	34. Chapter 33- Snap

**So sorry for the Ultra Save being the most obvious plot device ever. It's basically where all saves and resets take place.**

* * *

Frisk woke up on the couch.

Everything spun as she leaped off the couch, looking around. She was breathing hard and fast…

She was back…

Frisk collapsed back on the couch.

She was…

Her eye felt normal again, though there was still a phantom ache.

Frisk felt horribly sick to her stomach.

She was really back…

Papyrus, Toriel, Asgore, Rocky, Silver.

They were all back, right?

 _Only one way to make sure…_

Frisk took a deep, shaking breath.

She waited a few moments, waiting to see if Chara came back or if the world seemed unstable.

Nothing changed.

Frisk put one hand on the armrest to steady herself and stood up.

She was dizzy. Whether it was from the churning in her stomach or something else she didn't know.

It didn't feel normal to be able to move on her own again. She had a deep fear that when she would move, her arm wouldn't obey. That she would suddenly and without warning lose control again.

Frisk grabbed the railing of the stairs to try to steady herself, hand holding on so hard her knuckles turned white.

She really so incredibly sick…

Frisk felt a jerk in her insides and hurried up the stairs and into the bathroom, hitting her hand on the door as she rushed to the toilet and had a second encounter with her stomach contents.

She felt like there was no heat left in her entire being, and even the tiles of the floor didn't feel cold.

Frisk stayed on the floor for an extended amount of time, body still quivering. Her skin was beginning to get clammy, though she eventually forced her tired body off the floor.

Her heart throbbed as she hobbled down the dark hallway, arms wrapped around herself.

She stopped by Papyrus's door, breathing in and out in a controlled manner to try to calm herself down.

 _It's going to be okay, he's there, he's alive and there. It never happened here, everyone is alive._

She took a shaking breath before putting her hand on the knob.

The sense of dread in her heart was overwhelming, even though she kept telling herself that there was nothing to fear.

Frisk opened the door slowly, and the creak it made seemed unusually loud, though maybe it was her imagination.

Papyrus was in his race car bed, snoring. The occasional "Nyeh" thrown in.

Frisk exhaled in relief and felt tears bead in her eyes.

 _He's back…_

Frisk shut the door before she broke, lip vibrating with the urge to cry.

Was it her or Chara that killed him? Should she even be around anymore?

Frisk swallowed, wincing at the yucky taste in her mouth and the burn in her throat.

 _I need… I need to talk to Sans… now…but first I want to get out of this dress. I'm cold._

Frisk still couldn't believe that she crashed in this thing. She went down the stairs slowly and changed into her old sweater. Toriel had patched it up for her, and it was comforting to see the stitches and patches in the old fabric.

Then Frisk made her way shakily towards his room.

The door was unlocked, to her relief. She wondered in the back of her head if it was intentional or not.

Sans looked like he was still sleeping. Storm was sitting on the floor looking up with wide eyes.

At the sound of her entrance he looked over, eyes becoming eerie green and yellow circles from the little light that was coming from the window.

Frisk didn't move and gripped the door knob tight, fingers quivering.

 _He… remembers, right? Oh no… I hope he found a safe place…_

Wait, if he stayed with the closest person or where he was to begin with, does that mean he was here before the reset? With Sans?

 _Did Sans find him and take him in?_

Frisk felt tears again.

Storm padded over to her and sniffed her foot cautiously. His eyes scanned her over.

Frisk bit her lip to suppress a sob.

 _He hates me now. My kitten hates me now. Storm-_

Storm meowed loudly and started to claw his way up her leg.

Frisk, startled, grabbed him before he did any damage and felt him leap up to her chest, pushing his head under her chin. She could feel his tiny body vibrate with purrs.

The tears in her eyes fell over.

"Hey, buddy… it's me… I can't believe you still…" Frisk buried her face in his fur. He smelled sort of like ketchup.

The smell reminded her and she looked up.

There was still an uneasiness in her stomach. Would he be mad at her? He hadn't been after he found out, but still…

She sort of wanted him to be mad. It wouldn't feel right if he wasn't.

Frisk tip toed over to the bed.

Being closer, she could see how stressed his eyes were. There were little beads of sweat on his skull.

Storm jumped off of her and onto the bed, staring down at Sans. It was odd to not hear him snore- both of the skeleton brothers would do it often.

Frisk swallowed and reached gingerly gave him a shake.

Just as her hand made contact, his eyes flew open.

Frisk's heart jumped.

"S-Sans?"

The lights disappeared into the black of his eye socket.

Then the room melted together as she felt her soul being grabbed and flung across the room.

Frisk cried out as her body collided with his dresser, and she felt the wood splinter and crack with the contact.

She didn't move, dizzy and mind blank as she tried to process the situation.

Sans was over in an instant.

Frisk tried to say something, but his hand pressed her down further into the broken dresser as he bit her upper arm _hard._

Frisk started to thrash.

 _He still thinks it's Chara! Ow ow ow… please let go, let go!_

Frisk finally kicked him off and rolled over, gasping. Her arm was bleeding pretty bad, and a line of wet crimson was already rolling down and onto the broken wood.

"You killed him! How could you kill him! He spared you and you _murdered_ him! **Dirty brother killer!** "

"Sans, w-"

Frisk was cut off as his fist slammed into her face. _Ow._

Black framed her vision as he grabbed her shirt collar and pulled his arm back, ready to do it again.

Frisk closed her eyes, feeling light with terror.

"B-brother? What was that crash… BROTHER?!" Papyrus called out as he opened the door. She couldn't see him past Sans, but from the sound of it he was pretty frightened.

Sans slowly looked up, his grip slacking. Frisk took the opportunity to scramble away.

"P… Paps… you're…"

Sans was silent for a few moments.

He had started to tremble.

"…It's not… oh my god… Oh my god." Sans's eyes moved back to her. Frisk flinched and scrambled away some more, feeling her back hit the wall.

"I… Oh my god Frisk, I'm-"

Frisk couldn't handle the feeling of panic in her chest and stood up hastily, wobbling as she rushed to the window and pushed it open.

 _I need to get out of here, I need to go. I shouldn't be here, I can't be here!_

"Frisk! No, stop, come-"

Frisk jumped out and landed in the snow before Sans could finish.

She could hear Papyrus call out as she began to run through the snow, through the forest.

It was so dark, and the trees casted an ominous shadow across the glittering snow.

Her breath streamed behind her, and she felt a familiar twinge in her lung.

Frisk didn't know how long she was running, but eventually she was too lightheaded to continue and collapsed in a pine grove. Little brown clusters of needles littered the snow.

Frisk leaned against the trunk of one of the trees, panting. Her heart was pounding so hard it hurt.

The pain was dulled now from adrenaline, but she still felt battered. Her back was hurt and most likely had splinters in it. Her arm was still bleeding and showed no signs of stopping. Her head and face ached, and touching revealed her nose was bleeding.

At least it wasn't broken like last time.

Frisk shuddered, remembering how vicious he had been. He really had been bent on killing until he found out…

Was it the same way now? Or was he truly mad at her?

Frisk brought her knees to her stomach, shivering.

She couldn't blame him. No matter what he did, she couldn't blame him for it.

It was all her fault, after all.

Frisk rested her head on her knees and closed her eyes.

She stayed like that for awhile, listening to the wind. Snow was falling lightly.

Eventually she turned to her arm and took the patch off of her elbow to cover it with. The cold hit her bare elbow, but it was better than bleeding out.

 _I don't want to go back… I just want to disappear…_

Frisk sighed and rested her head on her knees again.

Unfortunately, that wouldn't happen in any way.

She should probably find some sort of shelter…

Frisk scanned the clearing. A huge tree caught her eye. Old and massive, it's roots sprawled out from under it, submerged in snow. Maybe if she dug, there would be a hollow underneath?

Frisk went over and pulled her sweater to cover her hands before digging at the snow.

It took forever and some frozen hands before she finally got somewhere. There was indeed a little shelter underneath, and after getting through enough snow and digging some away from the ground underneath Frisk found her shelter.

It was oddly calming. It was dark, but the snow around had a blue tinge. The smell of pine and wood was nice.

Frisk sat against the tree and buried her head in her arms.

How could she ever escape from what she did?

…

Frisk didn't know when she fell asleep, but one moment she opened her eyes and everything was suddenly day.

She felt horrible. Her nose was clogged, she was freezing, everything hurt and there was a shaking weakness in her limbs. Her stomach was empty but she wasn't hungry. Her face felt swollen and hot, the only heat she had.

Frisk put her hand up to her cheek. At least it helped warm her cold fingers. She was surprised she didn't have frostbite. This hollow was well insulated. Outside was probably ten times colder.

Frisk didn't want to move, but…

Dying wouldn't help her case with Chara.

Frisk crawled out from under the tree roots and shook snow off her stiff pant legs. Her injured arm was locked and didn't want to move.

She looked up.

 _I don't want to go back. I can't. Not after all of that._

Something nudged her leg.

Frisk didn't jump. She just turned her head and looked down tiredly.

It was her wolf. Her eyes were wide, and Frisk could see her reflection in them.

She was still pure white, save for her paw.

Does that mean it really wasn't her? Or did the timeline reset Karma as well?

Frisk shook her head.

 _I don't know up from down anymore. I think I need some time…_

Frisk gazed into her wolf's eyes.

… _alone. To figure things out._

The wolf nodded slowly, seeming to read her thoughts.

 _But I need supplies… and it would be nice to have my things. I could try to go back to the house and sneak in when they are gone…_

Frisk felt bad, but it seemed like the only option.

Her wolf faded as she begun the trek back to the skeleton house.

…

It must have been an hour before she got there. Looking through the windows revealed only Papyrus was there.

Frisk wondered with a pang where Sans was and if he was okay.

She should be upset with him… but she only had fear. For him or herself- or possibly a mix- she didn't know.

Frisk stayed behind the shed until Papyrus eventually left. She then slipped in and grabbed her new bag, shoving her old torn bag along with most of her belongings inside.

Frisk also took her fuzzy blanket Sans had gotten awhile back, a pillow forgotten behind the couch and a few cans of beef stew she remembered getting last time they were at the store. Papyrus didn't like making it (and any soup with vegetables) because Sans would pick through and eat all the meat, leaving the rest. Whether it was something he liked or not if there was meat it was mostly ignored.

Frisk hoped Papyrus wasn't upset… probably a vain hope, considering what he walked in on. Was he upset with Sans? What had Sans told him? Sans would never tell him what happened… right? Did he tell him to stay away from her?

Frisk squeezed her eyes shut and willed the tears away.

When she reopened them Storm was at her feet.

"…hey bud. I got to go…"

Storm tilted his head. His eyes were pleading.

Frisk gave in and scooped him up, holding him close.

"I guess you can come. I won't feel right without you…"

Frisk looked around one more time before walking through the door.


	35. Chapter 34- Falling and I Don't Care

**More Sans POV!**

 **The next events are all in Sans's POV. I could write dual but Frisk is sorta just sitting in the woods with a ghost wolf and a cat, so… not much to commentate on.**

 **Plus, Sans is just completely falling apart. You thought it was bad before?**

 **I hope you're ready for a bad time ;3**

 **Well, there is a ton of sensitive stuff in this chapter. Sans is a freaking magnet for all the unhealthiest stuff. Seriously. That skeleton's got a million problems.**

 **Oh, and some anatomy in case you don't know- Radius is one of the curved bones in the lower arm and Humerus is the big upper arm past the elbow. I have been hesitant to use the actual names of bones because some people may not know it yet but I think it suits Sans POV better to just call whatever by their names. Look up a basic bone chart or something, you can get a decent idea from that. It's good to learn new things!**

* * *

Sans paced frantically back and forth.

He didn't trust himself around Papyrus yet. But he didn't trust himself at all anymore.

This was what he was scared of, all this time.

He didn't know what happened. He opened his eyes, and he just _attacked._ The only thing on his mind was his brother's ashes and that damn wolf eye.

Then when he realized it was far, far too late.

Now she was gone who knows where, Papyrus was shaken up, and he could hardly stand to live with himself every breath he took.

His brother hadn't been mad. Of course. Worried head over balls, yes, but mad? Never.

Sans would have yelled in frustration if he wasn't looking at his dead brother.

Frisk had really reset the timeline. Brought everything back. Had him kill her to bring it back. And what had he done?

Beat the shit out of her.

Sans glanced back at the door. Papyrus had gone to get Undyne and Rocky to help look. He had the feeling she didn't want to come back, but she could at least stay with someone else so she didn't freeze to death.

God, why couldn't Papyrus blame him?

Sans continued his pacing. Storm was gone, as well as most of her things. She must have sneaked back in when they were both out. At least that meant she was able to move around well enough, and wasn't too badly hurt.

Eventually Papyrus came back in. He was alone and looked so uncharacteristically down.

He didn't need to hear it. Sans started to make his way to the stairs, feet dragging.

Why did he have to mess everything up?

"Brother… wait."

Sans stopped at the foot of the stairs, hand on the railing. He didn't turn around.

 _Just let me go brake down in peace._

He could hear Papyrus shuffling.

"I… I know you're really upset that the human is gone Sans… but Undyne says she thinks that the human will be just fine! She says… well, in short, to pay more attention to you. Maybe not in the… nicest way…. But I am no doubt worried for you brother. I know you only do that when you are really, really upset and scared." Sans snorted at that. "And you never tell me anything… so… I would really like it if you would tell me what's wrong? You… you can start with something small… if you want. The Great Papyrus can help you work on your talking skills, if you'd like!"

Sans was silent for a moment.

 _Little do you know I've already talked. It does no good._

"… how about I start with the fact I'm a ticking time bomb? There you go. Now imma go up and would prefer to be left alone now."

Sans dragged his feet up the stairs and closed his door before Papyrus could interject.

Sans couldn't sleep. All he could do was sit in his bed, remembering everything. The taste of blood, one simple flash of magic, blood leaking over pale blue tiles. Green eyes going dull and unfocused right in front of him. All at his hand.

The broken feeling when he found his brother's dust. The hopelessness. All those days he spent sitting in his house alone, unable to get up for just about anything. Hearing how Alphys had gone missing after her phone call and knowing he was the reason why. And envying her.

Sans rolled over and over and over. Eventually he realized sleep was useless and he should probably find something to occupy himself with.

Sans pulled out his phone and powered it on. He had forgotten it existed for a little while.

When it turned on he realized he had a text.

From Alphys.

God, had it been long since she last texted him. Well, in this timeline anyways.

Just seeing her name gave him shivers.

 _Alphys: Hey. Undyne told me the human went missing and stuff. Are you okay?_

Sans rubbed his brow. How come everyone was worried about a prick like him when Frisk was out there injured and freezing because of him?

If only she knew.

Sans sighed and began typing.

 _Sans: was I ever?_

 _Alphys: ummm… well, if you want, I can help you find her. If she has her phone I can track it._

Sans sat up.

 _Sans: what do you think? Yes._

 _Alphys: okay… give me a minute or two, I'll look it up and see if I get anything. I'll send a screenshot of the results to you._

Sans went out of the texts while he waited and went onto Undernet. He had an account but he never really used it unless he was tagging Papyrus in memes. Any other time he went on anonymously and trolled people.

He checked Frisk's profile. She only really went on to post memes too, but once and awhile she'd make an inside joke or random statement. Maybe she posted today?

Nope. Sans closed out, knowing it was unlikely anyways. Not like a post would tell him where she was.

His phone dinged and he went back to messages.

 _Alphys: well, I got results. From what I see it looks like she's far into Snowdin forest, north of your house._

Along with her text was a large map picture of Snowdin and it's surroundings. There was text in the corner of the picture reading "search results: no.16781" and indeed north of his house was a little red dot with "16781" above it.

Sans got up and pulled on his jacket, which had been thrown lazily on the floor.

His soul churned with anxiety. How would she react? He just wanted to make sure she wasn't dead or dying and maybe get her to find somewhere to stay.

Well, that wasn't all he wanted, but everything else he knew he couldn't have.

Sans shoved his phone into his pocket just as it dinged again. Whatever Alphys said it could wait.

There was a strong wind outside, blowing snow everywhere. Sans ignored it, even when it got into his slippers and chilled his boney feet.

Did he have any right to be confronting her? Would she run?

He was scared. Maybe she was hardly hurt at all. Or maybe he had seriously injured her. Sans had the feeling it would be somewhere in the middle.

It seemed like Frisk had just run straight, though for a long while. If he had kept looking in this direction and hadn't turned back after awhile he would've found her.

The forest seemed dull and eerie. He used to love walking through it at night, but nothing really seemed worth loving anymore. Everything was grey and numb.

Both in this time and the last.

It felt like he was walking for an eternity. At least he was occupied and wasn't thinking of how big of a mistake he had made.

The snow was patched with shadows, and soon he noticed faint imprints from footprints made at some point today, almost completely gone from the wind.

Sans felt a flutter of nervousness.

 _She must be close… god, this can go a million ways and most of them are bad…_

Sans pulled his phone out and checked the map. If he was looking at it correctly, he was right- close.

Sans pocketed the phone and kept walking.

Eventually he came to a clearing surrounded by ancient pine trees. Little brown pine needles littered the snow and the smell of the pines was pungent. He could hear shuffling from across the clearing and tiny feet crunching in snow- Storm, he guessed.

Sans swallowed. From here he could see a tiny burrow dug under the roots of a large pine.

Sans opened his mouth, but no noise came out.

So he just stood there in silence like a moron.

Then there was quiet speaking and the little gray kitten came barreling out of the pine tree, round and fluffy against the cold. He padded up to Sans and looked up at the skeleton.

Sans wanted to be mean. He _really_ wanted to be mean. But he was too tired. So he just bent down and looked at the tiny kitten.

"Hey there furball."

"Mew!"

"You're such a stupid little rascal, huh?" Sans reached forward gingerly and put his fingers lightly over the kittens head. He actually had no freaking idea how to pet a cat.

Storm gave him a look that said _he_ was the stupid one.

 _We're both stupid._ Sans told himself, feeling like he was being stabbed in the soul. _You for trusting me and me for making it a problem in the first place._

The kitten padded his leg, unsatisfied by his meager petting skills.

Sans ignored the kitten's demands and looked up.

He could see green eyes peeking out of the roots.

Sans wondered how he could _ever_ think that other…thing was Frisk. They looked completely different.

Sans fought back tears and sat back, fisting his shorts. Why did he wear shorts in weather like this anyways? Well, he was too lazy to care.

"…F…Frisk?"

He expected her to pull back, but she inched out a little more.

 _It's all because of me. Because I have to hurt everything. Nothing's changed… and nothing ever will._ Sans tensed, fighting back a sob.

No. If he was going to have a breakdown it wouldn't be here.

Crunching distracted him momentarily from his pain, and he looked up.

Frisk was slowly making her way out from the space under the roots. Now that he could see her face he winced at the deep black and purple marks on her cheek. How could he have done that?

"Sans? Are… you okay?"

Sans pounded the snow in frustration.

"Damn you… just… damn you. Asking _me_ if I'm fucking okay after I beat the shit out of you. And you still have the purity to ask if I'm fine?" He hoped his voice wasn't as shaky as it felt.

Storm glanced back and forth between them. Sans wondered if he was scared another fight would happen. Or maybe he understood. Hell if he knew.

Sans clenched his teeth, fighting so hard to keep his pain inside. That probably wasn't healthy, he told himself, but then again most of what he did wasn't healthy.

"I'm sorry… I'm so fucking sorry… I know it won't change a damn thing, but… I just… I just woke up, and… I didn't know what happened… I'm sorry…" his bones were clacking together, and he realized he was shaking.

Frisk tilted her head. He could tell she was watching him closely, and he knew exactly why.

"… It wasn't your fault." Her voice was even.

Sans threw his arms up, startling Storm.

"What do you mean it wasn't my fault?! What, did someone come in and pretend to be me? Did someone grab my arms and legs and make me do it? No! It's not even like I didn't know it was really you, considering what happened… back in the other timeline. I _knew_." Sans let his arms fall slowly, and everything seemed to disappear around him. It was only his own voice, Frisk, and the horrible pain he could never rid himself of.

"And…I… I killed _you…_ not Chara… _you_ …"

"You're wrong. You did kill Chara. And I asked you too. You have no right to be upset about something I asked you to do, and that you were forced to do. It wasn't you that made the decision, it was me and fate."

Why did she have to be so level headed _now_?

Sans shook his head, feeling thick tears stream down his cheeks. Well, screw saving it for home.

"And like I said, none of it was your fault. You… were scared and upset. Why? Because of me…" Frisk trailed off, and the wolf-like wisdom was replaced with guilt and pain.

Sans blinked.

"What? I thought you said Chara did it?"

"Chara was in control, but… I just… I watched them die… every single one of them… by me…" Frisk's voice was shaking, and Sans momentarily forgot about his breakdown dilemma. "And I couldn't do anything to stop it. So, by extension, it is my fault."

"I guess we're the three musketeers of stupid, huh? Stop talking horseshit. If someone else made the decision than it wasn't you. When I said before about someone taking my arms and legs and making me do it, that is _literally_ what happened to you. So shut it." Sans hoped he didn't sound as aggravated as he felt. It was _stupid._

Frisk shrunk a little.

"I… I just… I don't know anymore… it feels like I did it. I saw it and I felt it. But… I don't…"

Sans sighed. They were both in similar predicaments, but at the same time oh so different.

"Well… I… I know you probably don't want to, but…. could you come back?… I don't think you should be out here on your own. I still don't know how bad you're hurt, it's freezing and it's still not safe for you being a human to be out on your own. So… please?"

Caring was too much work. But not caring was even more.

Frisk closed her eyes.

"I… I'm sorry Sans, but I have to say no."

"What? Frisk…"

She had that look in her eyes once more, and it looked so much like a wolf. Sans would never have that mental connection, he noted.

"I understand you worrying, but I want to be alone for a little bit. And besides, I know what happened isn't your fault, but I don't think my body is on par with my head. And I know it would hurt you every time I flinch or do something of the like. It's something I can't help and something you don't need. And… I need time to figure this whole mess out. I… I feel like I can't tell left from right, and I think… this will do some good."

Sans felt like his soul was pierced by an icicle.

 _She does blame you, she is scared of you. She doesn't want to hurt your feelings, but she hates you. She doesn't want to be around you. You ruined it Sans, just like you ruined everything else. You don't deserve to be around her._

Sans stood up, and his chest hurt so badly.

"You don't want to stay with anyone else?" Sans forced out. His throat felt tight.

Frisk shook her head.

"No thanks… Sans, it's not because of you. I just need to figure things out."

"Yeah, I know. Let me know if you need anything. Or Papyrus, I don't care." Sans turned around.

Storm mewed, but didn't follow. Probably the smartest thing the cat had ever done.

He knew it.

 _She's too nice. She doesn't want to hurt me. She's fucking stupid. And I'm even stupider. I should have never let my guard down. I should have never gotten so close. It would have been a hell of a lot easier._

Frisk started to say something, but Sans left too fast for her to finish it.

Sans's walked back at a brisk pace, wanting to shake the murky, dark pain he felt in his soul. A deep cold grief and hurt that made it feel like the world was ending.

 _I'm a fool for thinking it would be okay. Nothing was ever okay, and nothing will ever be okay._

The trip back felt longer even though he was walking faster. Instead of being stuck in the quiet woods he was stuck in his own head, telling himself over and over that he deserved it.

When the house came into view, Sans thought for a moment before changing direction and going past it.

He would never be able to rest or sleep feeling like this.

Sans kept on waking till he was at Grillby's. It was really late at night, but sometimes he soulful be open. For some reason Grillby didn't need to get as much rest as most monsters, and he even lived in the store. There was always one or two monsters who stayed after the posted hours for whatever reason, and he would stay patiently until every single one of them was gone.

Sans pushed the door open. For once the familiar jingle of the bell didn't comfort him.

Sans didn't look around as he went up to his usual seat and collapsed in it, burying his head in his elbow. The counter felt too warm.

He heard Grillby's soft footsteps approach.

The Fire monster was quiet for a moment.

"… what's wrong Sans?"

Funny. The bartender had always looked over his customers like a father, and to Sans that was no different. Actually, Sans considered Grillby one of his actual friends. He liked him. Grillby was always respectful of his boundaries but offered help in any way he could. And Grillby knew Sans had a plethora of issues, so Grillby was especially kind to him. On top of that he put up with Sans's antics because it was near impossible to break his patience.

"… Just get me a Wolf's Blood." Sans muttered. He knew he should not be drinking right now, nor relying on alcohol to numb his pain. Especially being only 17. But Sans was too tired to care. So what if it caused issues?

His life was already in pieces anyways.

…

There was a gap in Sans's memory between his fifth drink and waking up on the couch with a horrible headache.

Hell, it was even enough for him to get up and get some Ibuprofen before plopping back on the couch like a soggy piece of bread.

He felt like he had fallen from the Royal tower and rolled through Waterfall before getting trampled by Aaron. And he didn't like Aaron.

He could smell Frisk on the sofa. He may not have the nose of a full wolf, but it was still decently sensitive. She smelled like lavender and some other weird flower smell that was probably from the dog shampoo she used on her tail and tried to deny.

Sans smiled at the thought. She had been really embarrassed at the mention of it. Honestly dog shampoo was the same as most shampoo in the underground. But apparently humans cared a lot about what kind of shampoo they used, not that Sans would know anything about hair care.

Sans felt a pang as he remembered everything that had happened prior.

He really regretted thinking of Frisk. He really regretted being able to smell her. He really regretted seeing little brown hairs all over the place. He super regretted not being drunk head over heels at the moment.

In perfect timing with his thoughts, Papyrus came down the stairs.

Sans glanced at the clock. Shouldn't he be out doing whatever with Undyne?

"Sans? You're up!"

Sans waited for a "took you long enough" or a "lazybones!" But it never came.

Papyrus rubbed his hands together nervously.

"You were gone last night and then Grillby called me. You should not be drinking like that! You should not be drinking at all! That won't help you find the human, you know!"

Sans groaned and turned over. He didn't need this right now.

"I know where the human is. She wants to be left alone. And I want to be left alone too."

"What?! Really?! Is she okay?!"

"Yeah. Now shouldn't you be out with Undyne?"

"Where was she?! Why didn't she tell anyone?!"

Sans grumbled in annoyance. Why didn't he get the message?

"I don't know. Go away."

Papyrus stopped his rambling questions at Sans's tone. He was a little guilty but he wanted to stop thinking about Frisk, not be reminded every ten seconds.

"Oh… okay… are you okay brother? Do you need me to make you breakfast? You don't look the greatest. You are still getting over a cold, are you not?"

Sans had forgotten about that. He wasn't congested anymore, but maybe that contributed to his crappy feeling.

No, it was most definitely because he was a douche bag. He needed to stop making excuses for his own lazy ass.

"M'not hungry. I just want to be left alone, Paps. Please."

Papyrus sighed in defeat.

"Alright, brother. If you really want… please feel better soon. I'm… I'm going to go hang with Undyne now. Call me if you need anything, and I'll be right here!"

Sans covered his head with the pillow.

All he needed was for the awful feeling in his soul to go away and to take back what he had done.

…

Sans couldn't muster any will to do anything but go to the bathroom, get a water every now and again, and drag himself to Grillby's once a day. Even Grillby's food didn't temp him, but he told Papyrus he ate there anyways. In truth all he did was drink some more.

Papyrus fussed and fussed until Sans shoed him away. It was getting increasingly difficult to not snap at his brother, though Sans knew he was just worried.

Worried about him.

Everyone around him was stupid, apparently

At some point Frisk had called Papyrus. Sans had tried to shut him out, but from what he heard Frisk was doing completely fine. Papyrus had been relieved and insisted on calling every day. How her phone kept charged he didn't know.

At times like this his spirit wolf bugged him. He would get close to his face, paw him, bark and jump. Howl, even. It still felt weird to be seeing and hearing this while Papyrus was completely oblivious.

His wolf seemed really agitated. He always got like that when Sans just gave up. But he had a new neediness Sans had never seen. He would stare out the window longingly, putting his transparent paws against the glass.

Sans wondered why he didn't just go to whatever he wanted. It's not like Sans needed him anyways.

A week passed by in a slow blur. It felt more like a month. The slow ticks of the clock melted into a messy passage of time, slowly dripping like water from a sink. It was slow and torturous, but Sans was too tired to dwell on it.

He had never given up _this_ bad before. Often times he had mild spells that lasted for only a few days. Or a really short emotional outburst. But now it felt like nothing was worth doing unless it dulled his pain, even for a short while.

He started going back into his basement, near the end of the week. He pulled out his old box. It was covered in dust. He hadn't done this in awhile.

It didn't matter as he pulled out one of the blades. They were blades from the lab, from long ago. He couldn't use ordinary blade on bone, after all.

He rolled it around in his hands. He shouldn't do this. Frisk had said to go to her if he needed help, to stop doing this to himself.

 _She's not here now._ Sans thought bitterly. _Because you drove her away. You only have yourself to blame. She's not here to help you anymore._

With that thought Sans dragged the blade across his radius, not caring that it would be a hell of a lot harder to hide than if he just did it on his upper Humerus.

Anything to make it go away.

It took awhile before he got the nice lightheaded rush. The cuts didn't sting anymore, and his chest felt lighter.

Sans pulled on his jacket without bandaging the cuts and walked out, ready for Grillby's.

…

Papyrus found out.

Well, Grillby may have first.

He wouldn't believe the ketchup story, so Sans assumed it was Grillby.

He was not in the mood to deal with this.

Sans spouted every lie in the book. Papyrus didn't buy a single one.

"Brother! Please tell me the truth! You never tell me anything, and anyone with eyes can tell you are not okay! You don't need to feel tough for my sake, so please!"

Sans hated seeing tears in his brother's eyes. Especially when he caused them.

Sans leaned back against the couch. He had been avoiding sitting on it but when he wasn't in his normal mind he instinctively went to it. He didn't know why.

Sans sort of regretted bringing up his old habit too. His arm hurt like a bitch now, and he had used up all the painkillers a day ago for his head. Joy.

"Nothing you can help, Paps."

"How do you know?!" Papyrus was getting increasingly hysterical. "You have been doing so many things that you shouldn't, and you've been hurting yourself in more ways than one! I've always… known you aren't healthy, Sans, but it's gone too far now! I can't sit by and watch anymore! It's my job to keep that from happening as your brother, is it not?"

"No. It's not your job. I'm my own person. Plus, I'm the older brother. Pretty pathetic, huh?" Sans let out a dry, hollow chuckle.

Papyrus was shuffling.

"Sans, it's not funny! I've talked with Alphys recently, with Undyne… she says you may have depression. And… you are matching all the symptoms she gave me! It's just the same as any other illness, we must get you better!"

"You can't fix some things Pap." Sans said, eyes narrowed. Alphys betrayed him. Maybe he should point out her problems and see how she likes it.

"How do you know if you aren't willing to try! I'd rather that than just sitting around watching this!"

"If it bothers you so much, then don't watch." Sans said, his tone getting a little deeper. Did he not get the point?

Papyrus took a step back, and Sans immediately regretted everything. The hurt on his face could break the biggest walls.

"I… I can't do that. You're my brother, and I love you. I can't turn my head away. What if it was me? Would you turn away? If so, then… well, it doesn't matter. Even if you would, you're still my brother. Lazybones, socks, ketchup, temper and all."

Papyrus turned for the door, his hands at his side.

"Paps, wait, I didn't mean it like that! I would n-"

The door slammed unusually hard.

Sans stared at it for a moment before sinking back on to the couch, resting his head in his hands.

Everything he touched fell apart like a house of cards.

He could see the speckled wolf shaking its head, eyes wide and sad.

He didn't need a ghost to chide him. Sans turned over, putting his head on the armrest.

Every throb from his arm reminded him of what a mistake he was.

…

The door was opened so hard it made a hole in the wall.

Sans jumped. He hadn't been sleeping, but he wasn't fully up either.

"YOU." Undyne snarled, pointing at him. She just barreled into his house, put a hole in his wall, and starts yelling at him? Wow, ballsy.

"What do you want? It can't be so urgent you had to put a hole in the wall."

"Shut it. You are getting your pathetic ass off that couch and you are coming with me. To Alphys. _Now."_

"…why?" Sans sat back with no intention of getting up.

"To take care of your shit. Papyrus just came crying to my house, and no one makes Papyrus fucking cry."

Sans felt a jolt of guilt.

"Well, I think that's my line to say, not yours." Sans retorted.

Undyne stomped closer.

"No, you lost that privilege ever since you started being a prick." Undyne growled.

"So… I never had it in the first place?"

"Sans! Stop being an asshole and let's go. You are not tearing Papyrus up like this. I may not be his brother, but I care about him. Seemingly more than you do!"

Sans's gaze darkened.

How _dare_ she!? Papyrus was the thing in the world he cared most about, the thing that kept him from ending it all. The pain he felt when he was dead returned, the pain of not being woken up by his familiar ranting. Being called a lazybones every two seconds. His anger at his puns, though he knew he secretly liked them.

No one told him he didn't care about Papyrus.

"You have no fucking idea. So shut the hell up and get out of my house. Papyrus is the dearest thing to me in this world, and just because I'm suffering doesn't change that." Sans growled.

Undyne's eye widened a little, but she didn't back down.

"If you care about him so much, then why do you hurt him? And besides, I don't think he's the only thing you care about anymore. I know why you're acting like this. It's because of Frisk, isn't it?"

"Jeez, you want a medal? An award? A+?" Sans snapped.

"You don't like that, do you? I can see through your shit. I know you care about that human, more than anyone else. I think she's just as close as Papyrus. And she pushed you away, didn't she? Probably for this exact reason!"

Sans sat up, his chest rumbling with a deep growl. He bared his teeth.

This fish. Had. Some real. Nerve.

"You know absolutely nothing. And yeah, what if she did? What if it was my fault? You have no right to say jack shit about it. Get out."

Undyne put her hands on her hips, staring back with fire in her eye.

"I'm not leaving unless it's with you. I don't know what happened and you're hurt, I understand. But nothing is going to happen if you just sit around, wallowing in shit. You need to get your ass off that couch, and make up for whatever the hell you did. Even if it was unforgivable. Because even if bloodstains never dry, it makes no use to never change the armor they splattered on. Sometimes you have to be a man- well, more like a woman- and just move on."

"You understand nothing. And you never will." Sans was seconds away from leaping and showing her a thing or two about being a Moon-Blood.

"I don't need to understand much to be able to tell that." She snarled in return. "I'm using common fucking sense, something you lack. I can tell you run away from your problems far too often. You need to turn around and face them, even if it means putting something on the line. It's the only way anything is gonna get fixed."

Sans chuckled humorlessly.

"Coming from a stubborn warrior who would stand and fight to the death. So what then, when you're dead? Nothing happens then, either. Real stupid ideology, if you ask me."

Undyne took a step forward, her fins twitching.

"No, you're _wrong._ To live you need a purpose. Life is nothing without a purpose. And dying for a cause, being remembered for who I was and for fighting that fight… making an impact, leaving a memory, that's living, isn't it? All I've got then is purpose, but that's enough. You're not living, Sans. You need to get up and start, starting now! Whether it's for your own good or just for Frisk and Papyrus!"

"It's dangerous to use all your knowledge in a single speech, you know. I'm not doing shit. So get out of my house." Sans snarled.

She was making a point. A real valid one. But he didn't care. He _wasn't_ going to listen to anything that came from her mouth. _Nothing_.

"Alright. I guess I've gotta drag your boney ass then. You asked for it." Undyne walked over and prepared to grab him.

Sans leaned back and snarled, shooting her a warning look.

She didn't get the message. And Sans had no remorse as he buried his teeth into her arm just as she tried to wrap her arm around his rib cage.

"OW, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Undyne screeched and flung her arm forcefully, and Sans couldn't hold on. He went smashing into the table, feeling his pet rock bug into his back as the table splintered.

Sans sprung back onto his feet and aimed a fist at Undyne's face. She caught it easily and twisted his arm behind his back before he could react.

"You. Are not getting out of this like this. If you want a fight, I'll give it too you. Hell, it'll feel good to beat your ass after making Papyrus cry." Undyne growled into his ear.

Sans didn't struggle. He summoned a bone and allowed it to smack Undyne over the head.

Undyne yelped and let go of him, and he quickly spun around and landed a blow to her face. He was too tired to use much magic, and he didn't want to anyways.

Undyne grimaced and charged, and Sans jumped out of the way of what would have been a harsh blow. Unfortunately he tripped over a piece of the broken table and stumbled, and in that time Undyne punched him square in the ribs.

Sans wheezed as black spots danced in his vision. She hit him once more in the head, and Sans tasted blood.

"So. You have enough yet?" Undyne asked, spitting venom in every word.

The skeleton straightened and attacked again, feinting to the side and kicking her ankle.

Her leg buckled under her, and Undyne cursed as she dragged him to the ground.

The next few moments were nothing but rushed, blurry struggling. Feeling hit after hit, hitting at who knows what the fuck, unable to tell what was going on.

He finally got his feet under her and kicked hard, and he heard the smash of what could only be the TV.

Undyne sprang up surprisingly fast and smashed her foot into his knee with all of her weight.

Sans opened his mouth wide and _yowled_.

Undyne kept her foot on his knee, and Sans started struggling. It hurt so bad he couldn't focus and form a bone, it didn't even occur to him to try. All he registered was _pain_ and _get her off._

Undyne glared back down at him.

"You're rusty, skeleton. I thought you were supposed to be one of the strongest monsters down here. Well, I guess that was before you became a poor slob. I would beat you senseless right now if I knew it wouldn't upset Papyrus. Now." Undyne bent down and grabbed his shirt collar. Blood trickled down her face, and Sans felt cruel satisfaction.

"You coming with me now?" She pressed her foot harder on his knee for emphasis, and Sans couldn't suppress the whimper that escaped his throat.

Despite the agony in his knee, Sans snarled, showing his fangs.

"N-no… I can be just as stubborn as you."

Undyne's eye twitched.

"You have no reason to be stubborn! You're supposed to be a lazy ass, not-"

Undyne was cut off by desperate pounding at the door.

They opened, and Sans was positive if Undyne hadn't put a hole in the wall that this new visitor would.

It was Rocky. He was panting, and his fur was fluffed in alarm.

Sans felt a rush of fear. Something was wrong.

"Q-quick! MTT… It's on fire! Papyrus… Papyrus and Alphys, we couldn't find them! We need help!"

* * *

 **My god, writing about Sans like this depresses me.**

 **All for slapping Sans for being stupid? And maybe getting him a new skull so his thinking fixes? And Frisk has no idea while she's out in the woods having a Wolfie session. And she was being level and truthful. Wow.**

 **Undyne kicks ass. She does care about Sans as well, but she'd never admit it. But no one makes Papyrus cry! Bad Sans, Bad! We need to get a rolled up newspaper and wack him whenever he's bad, like my grandmas dog. Then he can be forever scared of newspaper lol.**

 **No one be a Sans. Talk to someone- anyone. No one wants to be like a stupid skelie. Though we all love our skelie.**

 **SyntheticDesire.21: thank you :3**

 **Lauralie20: thanks! And I love writing Chara, her creepiness is fun lol XD**

 **AvianSobriety: Lol, Frisk ain't innocent. She spends too much time around Sans :b**

 **Here, have a bin of tissues. You need it. *throws cyber tissues***

 **Strange-Charms: heh, big updates to make up for crappy winter weather xb**

 **I'm glad you liked it, I was afraid it was too rushed. Especially being up all at once. Now we get to see the aftermath (and the peak of Sans's stupidity)**

 **Fictiongirl11: don't worry, I am not throwing anything away but my heart :b don't need that. Don't need to feel.**

 **Frisk's soul is the same, the biggest effect is mental. The LOVE went to Chara's wolf, and you'll see the effect next chapter!**

 **Ghostiedragon: well, Chara is doing it to "Erase and recreate". Like Cyrus from Pokemon. She only really cared about Asriel, Toriel and Asgore. She wanted all humans dead at first, but after seeing what happened with monsters, she just viewed the world as filthy, everyone in it as well save for those three people. Whether it's a good reason or not, that's her reason. I'm sorry to disappoint :/ it's how I interpret her actions. Maybe it will be clearer later on, who knows?**

 **Sorry if I missed any/ misspelled someone's name. I am having issues with Fanfiction, I can only see reviews in my email as of late. Anyone else having the issue?**

 **Anyways. Be happy and be safe!**

 **From the wolf in the mountains,**

 **Comycat~**


	36. Chapter 35- Mind Games

…

 **I hate life :/**

 **I had ordered something but something went wrong, then my dad took my giftcard I just got and used all the money on it. So even if I could reorder I don't have the money.**

 **Jeez, everything goes wrong 0-0**

 **I was so excited too. I never get things like that, because apparently going online to get something is "hard."**

 **Lol.**

 **I have plans for an HT animation meme or AMV. I'll take any suggestions or requests, but the song has to be something I like. Because I just can't animate if I don't like a song lol. I've tried. It doesn't work.**

 **Currently listening to "I hate you" nightcore. Awesome :D**

 **Also I think the song "Better than me" by Hinder fits HT Sans, at least at the moment.**

 **Time for the actual story!**

* * *

Rocky's panic wavered slightly as he took in the sight before him.

Sans had forgotten the current situation, even his knee being stomped on.

Papyrus.

In trouble.

May die.

Again.

Undyne sprang off him.

"Shit! What were you doing in MTT?! Let's go!"

Rocky opened his mouth but then turned to leave, beckoning with his curled tail to follow.

Sans huffed and forced himself up, wincing. He was just a little beat, but his recent health combined with his probably broken knee didn't help.

Sans limped after the two, struggling to keep up in the snow.

If there was _one_ thing he wasn't going to do, it was let Papyrus die after that argument.

Sans simply _refused._

He'd show life how goddamn stubborn he could be.

The thought gave him a little more will and he increased his pace, panting. God, his knee hurt.

Wait… they were nearing Waterfall…

Shortcut?

"Hey! Wait!" Sans stopped, trying to catch his breath. Why was he out of breath? He could run for hours and be peachy. He wasn't _that_ out of shape, was he?

Undyne stopped, seemingly surprised to see him. Did she think he wasn't coming?

"We don't ha-"

"I can teleport us there from here. You got time for that?" Sans snapped.

Rocky blinked and bound over to him.

"Really? How?"

Undyne snarled and walked over. Her head was still bleeding and her skin had a couple of green bruises.

"Grab my shoulder. And don't move." Sans didn't give them the whole "pharmacy warning" he gave Frisk in a voice mimicking medicine commercials. Not enough time.

Rocky put a paw on his shoulder, and he was a little unnerved by its size?

 _And he wants to touch my Human?_ Sans growled to himself. _Not over my dead body._

Undyne did the same hesitantly, and he focused hard.

His magic wasn't flowing as easily as normal. It felt irregular and sticky. Was something wrong?

Sans shook it off and zapped them all to MTT.

The second his feet hit the ground he stumbled, the world spinning. It made him feel nauseous.

The acrid smell of smoke hit him almost immediately.

Undyne and Rocky began sprinting, and he looked towards the hotel.

It was engulfed in angry flames, and it seemed the fire spread to the Core as well. Monsters crowded around at a safe distance, and he could hear crying in the crowd. Royal Guardsmen paced around the crowd, assessing needs and keeping them back.

Sans cursed and followed Undyne and Rocky.

He took them close, and although the flames were still a decent distance he felt the heat smoldering off them.

"I-I… I can't go in. I wish I could…My f-fur… I'm too big. I… I really shouldn't be asking you this, but… they need help, and… only do this if you want too, Undyne." Rocky said, his eyes sparkling with tears.

Undyne gave him a playful salute.

"No problem, especially for me! I'm always up for a challenge… especially in heat! Whoooo!"

Sans grumbled frustratedly. It was like he wasn't here. Was he-

He was cut off by a tug on his jacket.

It was his soul wolf.

 _God, what could you want at a time like this?!_

Sans saw Undyne sprint in from the corner of his eye.

He took a step to follow, but his wolf jumped in his path. He could've walked right through him seeing as he was a ghost, but he stopped anyways.

"What?!"

His wolf glanced around before running to the side, looking at him to follow.

Sans glanced once more towards Undyne.

Should he….?

Sans felt a prickling feeling in his gut and followed the wolf into a back alley.

It led to what looked like a teenage girl hangout, except with a store counter. The wolf pointed with his nose to a passage in the back.

 _Is this a different way in?_ Sans blinked before limping over.

Smoke clogged the passage, and Sans found himself coughing. There was an odd, scratching feeling in his chest from breathing the smoke in. Magic lungs didn't like smoke either.

Sans swallowed and went in.

The once beautiful MTT was alight in orange, the well painted tiles and fancy carpets charred and burning. The fountain in the middle reflected the orange glow in the still softly running water.

Sans cupped his hands around his mouth and called.

"Paps? Papyrus!?"

No reply.

There was a cracking sound above, and Sans looked up.

The ceiling was cracking, and little orange flame slipped through, lapping the tiles with charring tongue.

 _Undyne has down here covered…_ Sans realized. _But they may be upstairs. I should go up there._

Sans covered his mouth and coughed before walking over to a clear patch of wall. The ceiling had collapsed here, leaving only a hole and beams.

Sans gathered all the energy in his legs as he could and leaped. It was pitiful, to say the least. He felt like a cat jumping for a toy, but at least he grabbed a ridge on the wall.

 _Dammit. I really am not doing so good…_ Sans groaned at the pain in his arm from his cuts. He pushed off the wall and grabbed one of the beams, ignoring the dangerously close fire.

It shifted under his weight and he heard splintering.

Sans froze, dangling.

… _shit._

Sans pulled himself up fast and leaped just before the beam succumbed and smashed into the wall where he just was.

 _Close one. Gotta go now, this isn't going to hold._ Sans lifted his foot, staring at the uneven floor.

It was hard making his way around the fire. The smoke was thicker here and Sans couldn't stop coughing.

He entered the movie theater, still calling for Papyrus. His voice was raspy now.

The theater had seats that could be pushed under the ground for easy storage. They were under now, leaving a dark, wide space.

Sans walked in, inhaling to call again.

He stopped at the sound of a light crunch behind him.

Sans tuned just in time to see _red._

"Crap!" Sans ducked just as a flaming beam was thrown his way.

"What the hell?!" Sans snarled, patting his jacket. An ember had landed on it.

Smoke was billowing from behind, and he couldn't see who it was.

He heard a feminine voice laughing. It was so cold…

He knew that tone.

Sans took a nervous step back.

 _God, please don't let it be…_

"So your hearing _is_ as sharp as your fangs, skeleton."

She stepped forward.

It was a human, Frisk's age. Wearing a similar sweater too, but green and yellow with black rims. She wore shorts and had ears and tail the color of coal. Her eyes were just little slits of red floating in black, and a dark liquid ran down her cheeks.

Sans snarled viciously, though he felt a deep fear in his soul.

" _Chara."_

Chara held up a knife. The blade had black streaks from the Fire.

"Oh, and he's smart too. How nice. Makes me a little less… _peeved_ … you were the one to ruin my plan."

Sans felt anger that burned hotter that the fire around him.

" _You._ You're the reason… you hurt Frisk."

Her eyes crinkled with amusement. A fang poked through her lip.

"Pain is only a small price to pay for perfection, especially from someone so… stupid. Foolish, I'd say."

" _Fuck you!"_ Sans screeched and leaped at her, fangs bared.

Suddenly, her form glitched and faded.

Sans landed on the ground only to get hit hard with something and get flung across the room.

He lay for a short while, dazed. The floor was hot… it almost felt nice. He could just close his eyes here and-

"You know, it really wasn't hard to get you here. Dangle a little piece of prey in front of a wolves nose and he comes running like a dog. Hmmm, the danger of your brother was sufficient enough. How pathetic." Chara sneered.

No. He was not going to nap.

He was going to _kill._

Sans flew up with unconfined fury, his eye blazing. Gaster Blasters formed around him, sending sparks of blue against the flames.

Chara faded again.

Sans looked behind him, ready this time. This Bastard wasn't going to-

"Too. Slow."

Sans whipped his head back to the front only to get kneed in the gut.

Right where Undyne had hit him.

Sans wheezed and fell back, coughing.

Chara was over him in a second, blade pressed against his throat. The cold blade against his hard bone didn't feel nice in the slightest.

Sans felt his magic fade. Chara was twitching slightly, the black liquid oozing faster.

Her voice was full of poisonous honey.

"I can't believe I need to worry about you ruining my dreams. Look at you now… weak, tired, beaten… why is this?" Chara ran her slender fingertips along his chin, and Sans shivered. Her touch was so cold and lifeless…

"Such a waste, really… you had such potential. Both as an ally and… a wolf." Chara licked her lips, showing her fangs.

Sans wanted to back away, but he couldn't.

Chara leaned in closer. Her breath smelled heavily of blood and was cool.

"Why did you have to waste it on humanity, Sans?"

Sans's eyes widened a little.

"W-what?"

Chara chuckled deeply.

"On one little, insignificant, weak human. The one you have… affections for, don't lie."

Sans felt his teeth grind.

"Don't talk about Frisk like that." He growled deeply

Chara's eyes glowed.

"Oh, really? We are both in similar boats… we've both been bought out of everything all because of one _vixen._ A sheep in wolf's clothing… such irony, isn't it? You know I'm right. She's _weak._ She can't even… tell you the truth. Can she?"

"T-truth?" Sans echoed.

"Yes. Truth. A deceptive little fox, truly. She does not deserve the name of a wolf… she's just as clever at charades as you."

Sans's eye twitched.

"What do you mean?!"

"Oh, you should know! How… see, I wasn't in full control, you know that. _She_ chose… she didn't fight until the end. She wanted LOVE… she was never innocent. She's weak, but she has a deep urge… she's manipulative. She has you wrapped around her little finger, trapped in a fairytale. Just like you had her. She's vengeful. Hateful. She never forgave you. It was all a joke… or, pursuit of something… a little more satisfying." Chara licked her lips again, and Sans felt a shudder go down his spine.

 _Manipulative?... no… that's you. I can tell… that look in your eyes… but…_ Sans felt cool anger. _I'll show you charades._ Sans felt a brush of pain from the forgiveness part. But that wasn't what she didn't forgive him for, that was in the past. But at least it made him look convinced.

"…go on…" Sans said, tilting his head.

The dark satisfaction in her face gave her dead away. God, didn't people know how to bullshit these days?

"See, a wolf… is a wild beast. They have primal schedule to eat, sleep, drink… reproduce. I have a hunch… maybe that's what she wants from you. She doesn't hold feelings to others, but instead acts partially from what she was taught to act like above ground. But she does hold feelings… I felt it. Primal ones?"

This was the most ridiculous thing Sans had ever heard, and if he didn't have a knife against his throat he'd laugh.

The last thing Frisk was interested in was sex. From anything. She wasn't the most… adept when it came to romance. There had been so many jokes about it and Frisk just sat with a poker face with no idea what they were referring too. She had a perverted sense of humor, yes (partially because of him) but she didn't draw real, live connections.

Plus, it'd be a more accurate description of _him_ than her. He could be… Frisky. Not with Frisky, but… wait… that wouldn't be so…

 _Nevermind_ , ABORT mission.

Sans stared straight ahead, letting hurt force its way onto his features. It wasn't so hard a fib, considering… she was messing with his feeling for Frisk at the _wrong_ goddamn time.

"Don't you see? This world… it has nothing but pain and darkness. The world I wish to create… would be rid of this pain. A perfect, painless world. Yes, what I am doing is cruel. But it's worth what I wish to create. You've given up on life… but wouldn't it be nice to put your self in another life? A perfect one?"

"…"

 _She's trying to get me to do something for her. Manipulative bitch._

Chara ran her fingers along his rib cage, and it took Sans all his effort to not snap her hand off. He couldn't help how his body tensed up uncomfortably.

"… what do you think, skeleton? Wouldn't it be so much easier… and you could get revenge on the vixen for her sins. You could even… take your brother into our new world, if you behave." Chara tilted her head. "Think wisely skeleton. I do not give this opportunity lightly."

"Well… I think… your offer is tempting." Sans leaned in, smiling wide.

Chara looked satisfied.

The knife slacked…

In an instant, Sans had his fangs in her shoulder and the knife knocked away.

Chara screeched. Her blood tasted sour and was almost black, though in light it was an unusually deep red.

Sans dug his teeth in and pulled back, tearing flesh.

Chara screamed and grabbed her neck, the blood squirting from the wound. It splattered the floor and sizzled as it hit the fire, sending a horrible smell through the air.

"I'm not interested. Pretty good at charades, aren't I?" Sans snarled.

She started to wave, ready to plop over dead…

Her head snapped up with a sickening crunch.

" _Fool."_

She summoned a new knife in her hand and leaped forward, sending black splattering over his coat.

The knife buried itself into his injured patella (kneecap).

Sans screamed louder than he had ever in his whole life. It ripped through his throat, burning with the smoke.

His vision went black for a second from the intense pain.

Chara knocked him over, leaving the blade in.

"You should have behaved. Now I must get you… out of my way. No one will ever understand. But… you just be punished, my friend. For that." Chara shook her head.

"…uuuugggnnn…w…at…" Sans forced out of his choked throat. God, it hurt so much…

Chara pointed to her neck, which had stopped bleeding significantly.

"You can't kill someone who is already dead, my friend…"

Sans squeezed his eyes shut.

 _D…ammit… no…_

When he opened them Chara was gone.

 _Where…_

He felt hot pain _explode_ on his knee.

Sans screamed once more, though not as loudly as the first time. It hurt like hell to even talk, much less…

The white hot pain continued, and he realized there was a glowing hot _ember_ on the wound.

Chara chuckled as he writhed in agony, his world tilting.

"I told you… you misbehaved. This is what happens to _BAD_ dogs!"

Chara ground her foot into it, and Sans let out a choked gasp.

He couldn't… he just wanted to die, right now. It hurt too bad, it needed to stop, pl-

Chara let out a yell and something barreled into her from the corner of his vision.

Sans took in a shaking breath as her weight released his knee and the ember slid off. It hurt…

Sans sat panting for a swimming amount of time, only bald hearing what sounded like a bad dog fight nearby. He couldn't focus…

Sans finally got himself to sit up and look.

Blood was smeared all over the carpet from his movement. It was all black and a little deformed from the ember, and maybe from Undyne too. It made him sick just looking at it, and the deep smell of charred bone reached his nose.

Sans groaned and turned his head. What had happened…

The sounds and stopped, and Chara and the newcomer had separated. Chara had deep gashes on her face from what looked like teeth…

He recognized that purple sweater. That brown, bushy tail. That torn scarf.

He let the name struggle out of his throat.

"F-frisk?"

* * *

 **Ooooh, Frisky has returned!**

 **I feel so bad for what Sans just went through. That's sick. But I just had to slip a little bit of humor into a really serious moment. Sans, the middle of a fight with a manipulative demon bent on erasing the world is not the time to think about doing dirty things with Frisk! Only Sans could do that, lol.**

 **Frisk can do one of two things. Bitch slap him or kick the crap outta Chara and then bitch slap him. Sans needs a good slap. And Frisk has no idea what has been happening this past week. She's in for a surprise.**

 **Chara is so damn… ugh. She's got more interest in Sans than just… his power, let me tell you. And it's** _ **not**_ **safe for work. Chara, get outta here. Just get outta here. Storm, take out the trash**

 ***Storm jumps in with a matrix outfit, sunglasses, a rocket launcher with illuminati on it and is smoking da weed.***

 ***you reposted in the wrong neighborhood starts playing***

 **(Just imagine that image. Just imagine… a floofy kitten. Doing that. Well, you don't have to because I uploaded a picture to DA anyways. What am I doing with my life.)**

 _ **Lauralie20:**_ **yup, I have the same feelings. Sans, listen to Undyne for once! Frisk was being sincere when she said what she said and although she probably pissed her pants she's over it. Sans is the one who's scarred over literally taking what she said in the wrong context. Goddammit Sans.**

 **Newspaper time.**

 **I hope you have a great day/night as well!**

 **FictionGirl11: btw I saw your DA and that you're uploading more. :D**

 **I have never experienced most of the things Sans is going through (beginning of an Alcoholic, cutting, etc.) except the overall depression part, but I have done some research on the topic (and I've read a book about an alcoholic guy and his Burmese mountain dog, it's actually pretty good)**

 **Lol, skeleton up XD Skeleoff, Skeleton.**

 **I've got blankets. It seriously doesn't bother me.**

 **I'm not answering that last statement (oh no they're onto me I must delet this XD)**

 **Iluvfanfic: I despise that man. At least impeachment is becoming more of a plausible thing now that his mental state is being brought into consideration. But the thing Is, the worst problem isn't that he's corrupt and unethical and all those things. It's that his followers don't care, for whatever reason. That's the scary part 0-0**

 **And nooooooooooo…. Noooooooooooo. Just…. Nu.**

 **AvianSobriety: how about some self esteem jogs with Papyrus, lol.**

 **And yeas, Alphys knows. But she has the excuse that she's not literally letting herself die but still not an excuse. Sans isn't a complete asshole in the fact he at least didn't call her out.**

 **Iluvfanfic: omg I envy you, school sucks. It involves people. People suck. :3**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this little one day update. Probably a ton of mistakes because I put it out so fast but whateverz.**

 **Stay safe!**

 **From the wolf in the mountains,**

 **Comycat~**


	37. Chapter 36- Purpose

**Man, I am thankful for my Internet friends. Hella lot nicer than anyone in this hillbilly town XD**

 **Last chapter for the Sans POV (in a row, not in the entire story). I was going to switch to Frisk POV again but I decided to stay with Sans. Idk why.**

 **Frisk be like "no touchy my skelie"**

 **Sans be like "dat ass"**

 **Chara be like "lemme kill (instead of lemme smash)**

" **No Chara, find Becky."**

" **Wanna death."**

 **XD**

 **Someone needs to make that parody now. Maybe I will considering I just need pictures and text to speech. Lol.**

* * *

Sans was distracted from the intense pain for just a moment, trying to comprehend _what the fuck_ just happened.

Frisk was standing in front of him, heaving, tail and hair slightly stirring with the draft. Sans realized the flames had crept from the outermost walls of the room and were getting dangerously close.

Sans felt a pang in his soul.

… _Frisk…_

Chara shook her head, sending black droplets across the floor.

"I thought you would've learned your lesson, dog." She snarled.

Frisk was quiet for a moment.

"… and I thought you would have learned yours." Her voice was even.

He could tell she was trying so hard to look fearless and bold. And she had Determination, that much was sure. But for some reason he could feel her unease and fear, the pain just seeing Chara caused her.

Sans grunted and shifted, looking down at his knee. He didn't want to remove the blade. It would hurt too much. Besides, it would most likely mess up the joint and bone more.

This would never heal fully, he realized.

That was the least of his worries at the moment.

Sans let out a little cough and looked back up, wanting to whine. Why… did she find him? How did she know? He didn't deserve to be saved… he had hurt her. She didn't want to be around him. She said it herself. Why-

Frisk turned.

"Sans? Are you…" her eyes scanned him, and he shrunk back.

Her eyes rested on his knee.

He saw her swallow and her eyes shook a little.

Sans frowned.

"Don't worry 'bout it. Just go."

Frisk's ear flicked.

"No."

"Frisk. I've already hurt you enough. You don't need to get hurt or die or anything else because of me in any way. Go."

"I said _no._ " Frisk replied, and there was a hint of annoyance.

"Not like I'd let you go anyways." Chara spoke up.

Frisk's head whipped back to the demon.

Chara shrugged, casual venom burning in her lifeless eyes.

"I've got a score to settle with you. See, you cost me my best shot. Now, can't retain what we have achieved then. You're scared I could take control of you again, aren't you?"

Frisk flinched.

Sans hadn't considered that.

He had one word.

 _Shit._

Chara chuckled.

"No need to worry, I don't have that potential anymore. The power I gained from the LOVE gave me more Determination. But, my soul is corrupted. Therefore, my Determination is corrupted as well. No blood runs through my veins. Only the corrupted Determination, so dark red it seems black. You would know about Determination in liquid form, Sansy. And what happens when it's detracted from an amalgam? It's similar to that."

Sans grimaced at the thought of the lab, the musky air and the monsters melting on the floor, screaming. Desperate attempts and vials of red.

Frisk glanced at him questioningly.

She seemed to drop it and turn back.

Chara took a step forward, and Frisk's legs wavered with the want to step back.

"If I took control of your body you would die within hours. It would be a waste of power. I have a… better plan in store. However… you two need to be out of my way. You will die here…" Chara bared her teeth.

Frisk growled lowly.

The smoke was getting stronger.

Sans felt a bead of sweat drop down his skull. His already weak stomach churned.

He couldn't get up. He couldn't help…

The smoke couldn't be good for Frisk's lungs. Especially after the surgery Alphys did. She said they may never retain their full function. That wouldn't be an issue if they weren't in a burning building, but…

Sans opened his mouth, ready to tell her to _get out._

He didn't get the chance.

Chara screeched and leaped towards Frisk, knife ready. Frisk yelped and jumped under her, swerving quickly back again and kicking Chara in the calf, trying to her to fall over.

Chara cursed and turned around, slashing. Frisk ducked under the blow and swiped again.

Sans's eyes widened.

Frisk was better than he had ever seen her before… she had a new focus she hadn't had before.

Chara jumped back. Frisk kept a distance and circled, waiting for Chara to make a move.

Chara glared her opponent down, and Sans felt a jolt of terror from the rage in her gaze.

Then, she smiled and faded.

 _What?_

Frisk stopped and looked around, confused.

Sans looked around as well.

Did she leave, or…

No. She's playing a trick.

Sans didn't see her around anywhere… where…

The ceiling shook and splintered, flaming boards falling down…

Right above Frisk.

Sans yelled and tried to get up, forgetting his knee. He ended up falling face down, feeling the pain flare up again.

When he looked up she has jumped safely to the side, though she was shaking her hand vigorously. One of the flames had caught it and he could see a burn across the skin.

Chara reappeared close by.

"Ha, good… it seems the dog has studied the wolf… not like you could _ever_ be a true wolf, little dog."

Chara came at Frisk again, but stopped right in front of her and kicked.

Chara had kicked an ember up, and it hit her ankle.

Frisk cried out and jumped back, landing on one foot.

Sans growled and tried to use his magic. He couldn't concentrate…

"You try your hardest to be strong… but deep inside, you know you're weak." Chara said again, slashing. Frisk just avoided the attack by a hair.

She was stumbling back, losing her focus. She had less room to move now that the middle of the floor had growing flames, and the flames around the room were growing closer.

"The only thing that got you this far was your Determination… otherwise, you'd be nothing more than a lock pick to the barrier."

Chara aimed at Frisk's face, and she leaned back.

Sans saw something flash in Frisk's eyes and she pulled something out fast from her pocket.

The next instant Chara jumped back, screaming in pain and clutching her face.

Frisk had a small stick. However, it was wrapped with thorny vines, the thorns large and hooked. The only part uncovered in thorns was the very bottom, where she held it.

 _You smart bastard._ Sans was more than impressed. _Makeshift weapon. And by the looks of it it works like hell. I wouldn't want to be hit with that thing._

Chara was panting, black seeping between her fingers. She was clutching her left eye for dear life.

Frisk took a breath.

"These thorns are poisonous." She stated.

 _Even smarter._ The thorns would to more damage than even a knife, if it hit right. Poison plus being ripped by countless sharp needles. However it didn't have the ability to stab like a blade and was also dangerous to the owner, being poisonous. Sans could see why she saved it.

Chara looked up slightly, fangs bared.

" _ **You.**_ Have played for the _**lAst TiiiMe!"**_

Chara's form glitched, and the next second she swung one of the boards that had fallen from the ceiling. Sans winced at the sound of the wood hitting Frisk's head. She fell off to the side.

Sans felt his soul jump.

 _No!_

Fortunately, it didn't seem like she was unconscious. That was hardly a blessing, as Chara wasted no time and slammed the board down on her hand.

Sans wished he hadn't heard the screech that followed and the crunch that was undeniably Frisk's fingers.

Chara was on top of her now, and Frisk struggled to get free. Chara was holding her down, and she was reaching towards the flames, holding the board out. They were scarily close, and the end of the board quickly caught on fire.

Sans felt light with fear.

"Stop! Get off!" Sans called, trying to edge closer. He couldn't get up…

Chara pulled the board closer, watching the flames grow on the end.

 _She's going to…_ Sans realized with a jolt.

He couldn't wait for a broken knee anymore.

Sans got his other leg under him and used the last of his strength to _lunge_ towards Chara, feeling his eye blaze with the last of his magic.

He tackled her off, and the next few moments were a jumbled mess as he and Chara tangled on the floor. His limbs were weak and he couldn't hit as hard as he wanted, and eventually she had him pinned. Her eye was closed, and the black liquid dropped down her face and onto him as she loomed above.

She was beyond pissed.

Sans snarled right back.

"I. Am not. Letting you hurt Frisk anymore." He panted. His throat hurt. Words started pouring from his mouth, caused by the flame of anger that had ignited in his chest."Go ahead, end it. Do me a favor. The goddamn fish is right, life is about purpose. And protecting the ones I love is mine. So even if you kill my pathetic ass, I'll still live. Because as long as I achieve that one thing I'll never die. So go ahead… _demon._ "

Chara growled deeply, and the sound was gurgled.

She summoned a knife and raised it, ready to burry it in his skull.

Sans closed his eyes.

 _Frisk… Papyrus… I'm sorry…_

There was a loud blast above him and Chara's weight suddenly disappeared.

Sans jolted from the sound, eyes flying open. It hurt his ear… holes.

Chara had been sent flying by some sort of blast, and she landed on the floor, clothes smoking.

Sans looked in the direction the blast came from.

Last person he expected to come to his rescue.

Mettaton stood in the doorway with one hand on his hip, another outstretched. On the end of it was a cannon in the shape of a lions head, smoke pouring from the mouth. He was no longer a rectangle- he was now in a more humanoid form. He still kept his leopard ears and tail, and now had a chest covered in leopard fur. A heart sat on his stomach and he had curly black hair that covered his one eye. His other was a deep violet color with a pupil like a cat's. His skin was a light metallic silver.

"Hello~. Beauties, gentlebeauties, and scum."

Chara groaned and pulled herself up. Sans grimaced. Her entire arm had been blown to kingdom come, and it wasn't a pretty sight. Her form was beginning to fade.

"Of course, another joke." She spat.

"What… Mettaton?" Sans was trying to comprehend the situation.

 _What. In the flying fuck. Just happened._

Mettaton took a few steps forward.

"See, darling, you've set _my_ MTT on fire. That scares away fans, you know. Hohoho~ can't have that, can we?" Mettaton said in a singsong voice.

"Sans?" He felt a hand on his arm.

Sans jumped slightly and looked over.

Frisk was beside him, eyes wide.

"Are you okay?" She sounded shaken up, but he recognized a hoarseness in her voice as well. He could hear a very quiet wheezing.

Sans blinked.

"M'fine… well, as fine as I can be." He coughed.

Sans realized what he had said to Chara earlier and felt his cheeks burn.

 _Dear god tell me she didn't hear that. Do I even… what the fuck did I say?_

Frisk was looking him over frantically.

"Are you sure? You… don't look so good. Your… pale, and you-"

"Haven't… been feelin' the greatest." Sans cut in, looking away.

He felt the pain from before all over again. Why was she so concerned if she didn't want to be around him?

He could feel her eyes boring holes in his soul.

"… Sans, is something wrong? Did I do something?" She lowered her voice.

Sans didn't answer.

 _Was… it her, or me? She said it, but I caused it…_

"I… I knew you were upset last time we talked. I didn't mean it like that… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to hurt you… I just…" Frisk trailed off.

Sans whipped his head around.

"No. Not now. We are not talking here. No." He ordered hastily.

He was going to break down if this kept up.

Mettaton was beside them.

"You really should learn some manners! Pity… you could have been on my show one day. No matter… I wouldn't want someone so ugly marring my beautiful show! Your looks might be contagious!"

Frisk looked up quizzically.

"Is… that the stupid robot that did the thing at Alphys's place?"

Mettaton looked down.

"My dear, this "stupid robot" has just saved your life. Though… not intentionally, my darling. Though I guess I shouldn't let her kill a very valuable guest for my shows! However…" Mettaton's electronic voice lowered.

"The building will not hold much longer. I am afraid we must leave my beloved MTT. But the entrance is blocked, we must flee through the Core."

Sans blinked.

 _Core…_

"That's dangerous. The Core… there is a high risk for explosions, mini or large scale. We shouldn't be anywhere near the Core."

Frisk was staring up thoughtfully.

"We don't have a choice, remember? And Chara… her power is fading. She most likely won't follow us to the Core, considering we could push her in and shatter her again. I don't know what that would do at this point, but… we don't need to know, seeing as she won't risk It."

Her gaze returned to him, and then to his knee.

"… can you get up?"

Sans frowned.

He didn't even want to try.

Mettaton followed Frisk's gaze and then quickly looked away.

"Oh my, what an ugly injury… I've never been one for… well, such ugly things…"

Sans put one hand under him.

"Welp… gotta try."

Chara snarled from where she was. She didn't show if she had heard or not, but she wasn't moving. The blow seemed to take the rest of her power and she may not even be capable of running.

"Here." Frisk reached and pulled his arm over her shoulder, ready to help support some of his weight. Sans's soul jumped a little.

 _Well… here goes._

Sans groaned and pushed himself up, grinding his teeth against the pain. He tried to keep any weight off of it, and eventually he was up. He didn't like the feeling of being supported up like this, but… better than being carried.

Frisk let out a few, deep coughs. Her wheezing was louder.

"Hey, Frisky… are you alright? Your breathing don't sound great over there…" He asked softly, trying to hide his initial _holy shit she's suffocating oh crap this is bad fuck_ reaction.

Frisk coughed again and shook her head.

"Humans don't handle smoke well."

"… skeletons either." It was weird to think that the smoke was affecting organs he couldn't even see.

"… this brilliant robot does not need to worry about smoke." Mettaton added. He was staring straight at Sans and was smiling. Sans did _not_ like the look.

"Buddy, don't get no funny ideas. I'm not available."

Mettaton laughed.

"Oh, not what I was thinking honey. I have standards, I'll have you know. I was just thinking of the irony…"

"Of what?" Frisk asked.

"Why don't we get out of here before rotten cherry over there gets enough will to move." Sans growled.

Chara still hadn't moved despite the flames now at her feet. She now looked more like a ghost, and the flames went through her ankles.

"Good point." Frisk agreed and started walking. Mettaton led the way out of the room, and Chara didn't follow.

The hall was ablaze in orange, and the floor was falling away. They had to get down to the first floor…

"Here darlings, we can go through here." Mettaton pointed to a small door. In it was a small staircase untouched by smoke.

"This leads to MTT burger. From there there is an entrance to the Core furnace." Mettaton explained.

Sans grunted as he followed the actually annoying orange tail down the stairs, feeling pain jolt up his leg every step.

The smoke was really bad downstairs, despite the rule that smoke rises. It was trapped under the floor, though more was able to rise from the holes now forming.

Sans couldn't help himself as he broke into a coughing fit, Frisk joining him.

Sans tired to increase the pace, cursing under his breath. It smelled like Papyrus's meatballs in here.

There was a small clear door in the back of the kitchen, and it lead to a dark room with a pit in the floor, flames at the bottom. The flames that were meant to be there.

"Around we go, darlings." Mettaton turned and walked along the path that lead out of the room.

Sans felt dizzy. Like he could fall over any second…

He shook himself awake and pushed on.

He was vaguely aware his eye lights were out due to lack of magic. Oh well.

Mettaton approached the elevator and pressed the button. Luckily, it opened. It seemed untouched by the flames…

Sans leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. His head swam.

"Where does this take us?" Frisk asked.

"To the end of the Core, honey. The fire should not have reached there, at least not yet."

There was a sudden loud _boom_ that shook the elevator.

Sans's eyes shot open.

Frisk was shaking slightly.

"What… was that?"

"An explosion. Not good…" what if the Core collapsed? It was made so even Fire couldn't collapse it, but… this was probably the worst fire in the history of the Underground.

The elevator shook again. This time without a boom.

And again.

Frisk looked down at the floor.

"Is it going to fall?"

Mettaton looked concerned.

"I don't know darling… it's taking awhile to get to the destination…"

Sans felt worry swim in his soul.

 _If we fall we explode… we can't._

It shook again, almost making him fall.

Then it stopped.

There were a few moments of tense, fear filled silence…

Another boom and a shake…

Then the doors slid open.

Mettaton jumped out, and Frisk pulled him out a little too fast for his liking.

The second they turned back the elevator shook wildly and fell, followed by a loud crash.

"Wow… we're real goddamn lucky." Sans said.

"It must be my good looks. Anyways, if we go past here we-"

Sans turned out, feeling his focus waver. He was so tired… he wished he could teleport home.

Wait… Papyrus?

Sans's head jolted up.

"Papyrus! We were looking for him, where-"

"He was back out in front, he's fine." Frisk replied.

"You saw him?"

"Yeah. Right before I busted through the front doors with the royal guard screaming at me that is. I didn't look him over in all detail, but he looked overall fine and alive."

Sans blinked. They walked into the large black room that existed for no known reason and into the hallway beyond. It was considerably colder away from the fire , and Sans had started to shiver.

"You… busted through the doors, huh? What, did you do a Lassie?"

"Sure thing, Timmy." Frisk joked.

Sans let out a few hoarse chuckles. It… felt nice, to actually laugh after so long…

"How… did Rocky get you?"

Frisk shook her head. Sans didn't like the movement it created, feeling his body sway with dizziness.

"No. Dapple warned me."

"Dapple?" Sans asked.

"Your soul wolf." She answered quietly.

"…they have names?"

"No, but I gave them some. I named yours Dapple and mine Snow. For clarification."

Sans exhaled. He never thought about giving it a name. Well, looks like she had done it for him.

Sans was silent for a moment.

"…Frisk… what were you doing in the woods, anyways? Besides getting some distance…"

"Not much. A little battle practice. Raiding trashcans. Spending time with Snow and Storm."

"Raiding… Trashcans…"

"… I'm not talking about it."

"… you really are part Cat, I swear to god."

They entered the next elevator. Mettaton took out a pink key and put it in the elevator, and it started moving down.

This elevator usually went up to the Royal area, Sans noted. Mettaton must have special access or something.

The movement didn't feel good. Sans pulled his arm back from Frisk and let his back slide down against the wall, closing his eyes.

"Sans? Are you okay?" Frisk asked, alarmed.

"… just tired… real tired… are we going back down to the front of MTT?"

"Yes, darling. I have special access to a different route due to it not having the new technology installed. It still works, though, we should he fine now."

Sans sighed and let his back slump.

Frisk sat down next to him.

"…are you going back?" Sans asked, feeling his throat close up.

"Where?"

"Away."

"I… don't know. I… don't really have reason too, anymore. So… I guess I'll…"

"Are you still mad at me? Scared?"

He heard Frisk groan.

"Saaaans… I said no. A million times. I was never mad… and in my head, I wasn't scared. I wasn't trying to spare your feelings. Papyrus said you were acting upset about something… and that's what it was, wasn't it? I was being honest, jerkbag."

"… more than upset." He still didn't… couldn't…

Did it matter?

He wanted to carry on believing what she said was true… even if it just invalidated his entire episode.

Sans felt tears prick his eyes, forgetting Mettaton even existed.

Sans sat ominously still for a moment, trying to keep dead still…

He ended up giving in and flinging his arms around Frisk, pulling her close. She let out a tiny, surprised yelp.

He buried his head in her shoulder, trying to hold the tears in.

"I'm sorry… I know I've said it but I'm sorry… for everything... I… you still…" Sans couldn't make words out of fear the dam would break. She still smelled like lavender…

Sans realized with a jolt he _fucked_ up.

He might love Papyrus the most…

But dear mother of god he loved the human too.

* * *

 **Sans finally gets a little intelligence. Aaaand Frisky is going to find out what a bad skeleton he's been. And she ain't gonna be happy.**

 **We also finally see Mettaton! He gotta be sitting in that elevator in a mix between "this is awkward" and "oh, the drama! How beautiful! Where's the cameraman!" Lol.**

 **This chapter is poo poo. I had a rough week :b**

 **Fun fact: Frisk has developed an eating disorder after her infection. Akin to anorexia, but from body image issues. More along the lines of both losing her appetite more often and stuff. Sans may look like he has a binge eating disorder considering he will eat huge quantities of food but he actually just does that out of wolf trait. He and Frisk have the ability to eat ridiculous amounts of food in one sitting just like real wolves. It may not seem like it but even with her disorder Frisk, if she is actually very hungry, can inhale like a black hole. Real wolves can eat 20 pounds of meat in one sitting. She could probably consume like 20 pounds of ice cream lol.**

 **Oh, and Ask HT is back up! Over on Deviantart! Well, maybe not at the time of this chapter but around the same time. It should be up very soon!**

 **There is an assembly today, so I don't have time to do the reviews. I'll try to get the next chapter out tomorrow and I'll do them there!**

 **From the wolf in the mountains,**

 **Comycat**


	38. Chapter 37- We're here for you

**My bird pecked my eye. Depending on how it feels the next update may be postponed. I'vealready got bad eyesight as it is but now I can hardly see a thing lol. At least I had this chapter finished before it happened.**

 **Sorry this is late. The weather was bad.**

 **Glowsticks**

* * *

Frisk was not happy.

Sans had eventually passed out before the elevator reached its end.

She had been so guilty. She hadn't meant to hurt him… and he had thought she hated him.

Anything but.

She had been worrying head over heels about what the hell happened. Sans just didn't look… Sans. He was pale and overall unhealthy looking. He also kind of smelled.

And once they regrouped, she found out why.

If Frisk felt bad before, she felt ten times worse.

But, at the same time, she wondered _what in hell_ caused him to break that bad. Could he have taken her words that badly? Was it leftover from the last timeline? Was it because she wasn't there when he needed someone the most? She had originally thought it would be better to stay away, but…

But she was pissed too.

Why would Sans do that?

Papyrus told her everything. His overall depression, sudden obsessive (and still underage, in her book) drinking, the cuts on his arm. She soon learned he got into a fight with Undyne, hence why the TV was completely obliterated.

The only happy one at this point was Storm.

He was happy to be back in the Skeleton house, though since Sans had to stay at Alphys's lab for one day as she worked on him he didn't seem as happy. He had really grown attached to Sans and missed him sorely when Frisk took her time off. The kitten did enjoy wandering the woods and watch her horribly fail at trying to "train". She knew she would never be able to throw a punch, but she had tried to work on her instincts and reflexes. Whether it paid off or not she didn't know.

Frisk got no sleep the first night back. Guilt and terror from seeing Chara mixed with the pain of her horribly broken hand (thank god it wasn't her dominant one) and her still rough breathing made sleep seem impossible.

Alphys had given them a new TV, and Undyne was going to help them move it in tomorrow, as well as get a new table and a second couch. She apparently did feel bad about wrecking their furniture and probably traumatizing Papyrus. And when Sans's knee injury was revealed she was extremely unhappy until she was assured it was from Chara.

Explaining the situation wasn't easy. She got away easy, seeing as her lungs weren't in tip top shape from the smoke.

She had said it was an angry ghost. Trying to get revenge by blowing up MTT. She left out any details, as well as the full story. She would talk with Sans about whether they should reveal everything when he wasn't basically hospitalized.

The morning couldn't have come sooner.

Papyrus was up early, even for him. She suspected he didn't get as much sleep either. Actually, he had looked tired ever since she first saw him again. She didn't blame him. Undyne said he had been running up the walls worrying about his brother.

"Hello human! Are you feeling okay?"

"…mmmmmnnmnnnnhhh…" Frisk groaned. Her head hurt, her hand hurt, and she was tired. But her mind wouldn't let her sleep.

Papyrus looked at her sympathetically.

"Oh human, you look tired! You can sleep more, if you want… I won't stop you. We all need more sleep… more rest. I hate to admit."

Frisk rubbed her forehead, feeling Storm shift under the blanket.

"Yeah… but I don't feel like it. Not after all of that."

"Human!" Papyrus put his hands on his hips.

"I've had enough of self harm in various forms to last me an eternity! The great Papyrus demands you get rest! I will make you hot cocoa, you will accept it, and you will rest! No argument!"

Frisk blinked slowly.

Ok.

She didn't feel like arguing anyways.

…

Frisk eventually got herself to fall asleep and woke up at two in the afternoon. Mostly from Undyne yelling outside.

She could see the new TV still with a screen protector on it. The light reflected off the clean, untouched surface. It looked nicer than the last one, though for some reason it still gave Frisk the creeps.

Why was she scared of TV's anyways?

Frisk sat up, still feeling like crud. She winced as her hand began to hurt again. She had it sitting the wrong way and now it hurt like hell.

The wrapping and brace on it was rather bulky and didn't fit on the couch well. It personally annoyed her. At least she didn't need a cast.

And at least it wasn't dragged to hell and back like Sans's knee.

Frisk heard a loud thump at the door and watched as the edge of a purple couch poked from the open doorway. Frisk realized it was chilly in here due to this and pulled her blanket up further.

So much for helping. Not like she could do much with a broken hand, but still.

"Put more backbone into it Papyrus!" Undyne yelled. There was

Shocked silence that followed.

"Was that… a pun?" Papyrus asked.

"Uhhh… No! I didn't say nothin! Get to it!" Undyne gave the couch a push.

"Careful! You are going to scratch the doorframe!"

"Oh shaddup! No one cares! Is there a doorman going around examining doorframes?"

"…I hope not."

"Exactly!"

Frisk wished she could easily plug her ears, but wolf ears weren't the easiest to plug. Earbuds or headphones weren't an option either. Earbuds were too uncomfortable and headphones didn't fit. So she was stuck listening to yelling Satan Fish.

Undyne's head was wrapped in a loose bandage. But other than that she was burning as always.

Eventually the couch was in and was put against the same wall as the stairs, right before the night table. Frisk didn't like the change. She wished it looked the same as before. She did like the purple couch though. It was smaller than the one she was currently on, but it wasn't lumpy and hopefully didn't smell like ketchup.

Well, she didn't mind the ketchup smell at this points anyways. Some things you just get used too.

"Hey! Punk's up! You dying over there, furball?"

Frisk yawned in response.

She wanted the stuff that was rubbed on ones chest and that made it feel nice and clear. Actually she could always go for that stuff regardless of whether her chest hurt or not, it was awesome.

"Wow, your hand looks funny. Probably a ton better than jackass's knee though. I don't know if I'm the one that broke it or if it was that ghost thing, but Alphys said his bones were more brittle and weak than usual. Apparently, he's really unhealthy. You probably would have guessed." Undyne scratched her head.

Storm was already on the new couch. He was getting fat, as well as retaining his fluff.

Frisk swallowed.

"Is… he going to be okay? None of what Alphys has said sounds good…"

Undyne shrugged.

"I dunno. She says he may never walk normally again, though. He will probably have a limp for the rest of his life. Maybe the rest of him will be fine if he gets some more intelligence."

"Yeah…" Frisk agreed with a small smile.

She felt bad for him. Like he needed more reason to just sit around all day. Plus, it must be painful. She wondered what it felt like to only have bones, no skin or flesh between them.

Undyne stretched and plopped on the couch. Papyrus was currently outside assembling the new table- probably not correctly.

"Look, punk. I'm pissed at him, and I'm not too remorseful for beating him up. But he's my friend too, as weird as it is to admit. I'm not stupid and I know a lot more has happened than what you guys have said, but I'm not going to pry. At least right now. If I wanna know I'll know." Undyne cracked her knuckles. "But we were all really worried. I've never seen him crash so hard, man. It made me realize he's got some issues… and they have been around for awhile. I feel bad for not noticing sooner. Not bad as in I want to beat his ass bad, I mean actually guilty. Especially since Papyrus has always known. He just never said anything. How wack is that?"

Frisk looked out the window at the skeleton currently putting six legs on the table.

He knew more than he let on…

"We can't let him keep going this, if only to save Papyrus some grief. But we aren't going to get him to some sort of therapist, are we? He'd bite and scratch the entire way and if I've learned anything if he doesn't want to do something _he doesn't want to do something._ " Undyne snickered.

Frisk tilted her head thoughtfully.

I'd be good punishment, but…

"I'd be a waste of time. He doesn't even need to use much energy to just deny. He'd sit there and make a brick wall look more friendly. He'd see it more as a chance to play some Malicious pranks."

Undyne nodded.

"Yeah, thought so. So… what do we do? Antidepressants? I never talked to Alphys about it but I know she's on them."

"I don't think drugging him is going to help." Frisk said softly. "It would encourage him to seek solutions in that area. Plus I don't feel comfortable giving him any sort of drug with his behavior."

"Yeah, I guess. What then? He has shown no interest in talking to Papyrus. Let alone anyone else. He's outwardly friendly but I don't think he had any interest in bonding with anyone else other than you and Papyrus. Speaking of which, never thought you'd get through his radar. Kudos. You're jackass proof."

"I don't know…" Frisk shrugged. She wondered why of all people he preferred her.

"But… he did talk to me a little. I've… known about some of this. He said he was doing okay and that he'd come to me if…"

"But you weren't there." Undyne said bluntly. "Intentional or not you made yourself inaccessible and he had no one he felt comfortable turning to."

Frisk shrunk a little, realizing Undyne was right.

"I… I didn't mean…"

Undyne sighed.

"I know you didn't, mutt. You're too good for your own good. It's his fault for being so emotionally reliant on one person. But I think I'm going to talk more with Alphys about this, because something has to happen. He can't hurt Papyrus anymore, or himself. We gotta get him right."

"You can't force him, Undyne." Frisk warned. "Sans has to chose on his own. I wish it wasn't that way but it is."

Undyne huffed, flexing her arm.

"Sure, sure. We could just take you and Papyrus away if he misbehaves. And go up to him with pots and pans whenever he tries to sleep."

"That will get you killed." Frisk was not joking. She did _not_ want to be the one to prevent his sleep _and_ make loud, probably painful noises.

"I'd kill him first. I'd-" there was a loud chime and Undyne pulled her phone from her pocket.

She opened a text and stared at it for a few seconds.

"… Sans is up."

"Is he okay?!" Undyne had a poker face.

"Apparently. He just ate a literal 30 pounds of meat and really wants to come home. She says he is currently howling to protest being locked up."

"…oh."

There was another ding.

"… Alphys says he may be in… heat."

"What?!"

"Heat. Apparently Moon-bloods get it more often. Usually it's once a year. I got a shot so I don't have to deal with it so I'm cool."

"No, back up." Frisk was extremely confused. "Monsters go in _heat?_ Like cats?"

Undyne raised a brow.

"Uh, yeah? Sorta? Not as often anymore because there's pills and a shot to prevent it. Do humans not do it too?"

"No! Humans do not!" Oh Lordy. She could just imagine…

"And why a day after… everything!" Frisk threw her arms up.

Undyne chuckled.

"I dunno, may be the drugs Alphys gave him. If I recall he gets real rowdy though. She's considering keeping him in her lab until it's over. And I don't think you will be allowed to visit."

Frisk frowned.

"…"

"… I don't think Alphys is very comfortable either. She says he's showing no interest, thank god. If he touches Al…" Undyne made a fist with her hand and showed her teeth.

There was another ding.

"… you don't need to know that."

"No I don't." Whatever it was, Frisk was traumatized enough and did not want to be subjected to more.

Another ding.

Undyne burst out laughing, and Frisk still did not want to know why.

Undyne started typing, still giggling.

"Man, this is great… Alphys says you really _don't_ want to come over. I think you should anyways!"

"Why?"

"Because!"

"…no. I've got to pee."

Frisk got up and walked upstairs, hearing Undyne begin to roar with laughter again.

…

The week dragged by, and the house was unusually quiet. Papyrus said it had been that way for awhile.

Papyrus seemed to miss Sans, she could tell. Frisk kind of wished he'd snap out of it and return soon as well.

She was still weirded out though.

But she had developed a morbid curiosity. What was he doing that made Undyne laugh so hard?

He had also hurt himself more during his… episode. Apparently he had drug himself down to the fridge to raid it. Alphys said his willingness to eat was a good sign but it could just be from his current condition.

Frisk had started stealing Sans's bed while it was ripe for the taking. She couldn't sleep without pain on the couch due to the bulky wrapping of her hand, and she liked sleeping in a bed anyways.

Eventually Alphys informed her that Sans was done with his episode and was acting depressed again. Not nearly as bad as before but enough for concern.

Undyne had been going back and forth between their entire group, even including Toriel. Frisk had a new respect for the fish. She could be mean but she wasn't heartless.

Frisk wasn't sure how to feel once Sans was given the okay to leave.

She knew there would be words.

Lots of words.

Frisk slept late, as she had been getting accustomed to. The only reason she was woken up was from a new racket downstairs. She instantly felt crowded even though she was alone.

Storm was gone too.

Frisk sat up and rubbed her eyes, pricking her ears.

There was a large amount of shuffling and talking from a variety of different people.

Frisk, more awake with curiosity, sat up and opened the door a crack and sniffed the air.

Her brow furrowed as she tried her best to pick apart the scents.

Undyne… Rocky… Toriel… Papyrus… Alphys?

What was going on?

Frisk felt worry worm in her gut.

Did something bad happen?

Frisk crept out and peeked over the railing.

Indeed, they were all there. Alphys was shuddering nervously and Rocky was panting. Toriel ran her paws through her furry ears and Undyne was waiting in the middle of the living room with her hands on her hips.

Frisk could smell the rich scent of Toriel's pie and some other fresh goodies. It seemed like the fridge was newly stocked as well.

 _What is this, a party? What's going on?_ Frisk thought, slightly peeved. She wished she had at least been warned…

Wait, why was Alphys here? Wasn't she supposed to be with Sans?

Just as the thought crossed her mind the doorknob turned.

Everyone fell silent.

The door didn't open, but she could tell someone was on the other side.

… _Huh?_ Frisk wondered if she was just dreaming. This was weird.

"… What is he doing?" Undyne whispered angrily to Papyrus.

"… I think he knows." Rocky answered.

Eventually, the door opened just a crack.

Frisk felt her heart skip a beat.

 _It's Sans…_ she could see his eye socket peaking through the door crack.

"Get in here you doof!" Undyne demanded.

Frisk flinched. _Oh no… what are you doing… Undyne, please don't screw anything up…_

Sans hesitated before pushing open the door more. He was on crutches. She hoped he didn't walk all the way back, or else Alphys would have to explain a thing or two.

She could tell he wasn't happy with all the people in the house, and his eyes locked on Undyne. He inched backwards a little.

Frisk realized he was scared of the fish.

 _Undyne…_

"Took ya long enough." Undyne snorted.

"… leave me alone. Why are you here?" Sans's eyes scanned the room.

"BECAUSE! Brother! We are your friends! That's why! Undyne gathered us all here for you!"

Sans eyed her suspiciously.

"Haven't you bugged me enough? Getting more people involved isn't going to help. So leave me alone." Sans sounded a little more agitated this time.

Undyne sighed.

"You are impossible. We aren't going to make you go anywhere, if that's what you're thinking. So chill. I got everyone here because you've got some issues, man. And they need to be fixed one way or another."

Toriel nodded in agreement.

"She is right, Sans. It is not healthy to keep to yourself all the time. Especially in times of need. I haven't known what has been going on, but when I heard I was instantly worried."

Sans's brow furrowed in confusion.

"…nothin' to worry about."

"Yes, there is." Toriel's eyes gleamed. "There is much to worry about."

Rocky barked softly and stayed almost behind Undyne.

"I-I know you don't like me too much, but I know you! I… I saw you at Grillby's all the time, drinking, and it was scary. I've never seen someone act like that before… I felt really, really bad." Rocky pulled his tongue in, ceasing his nervous panting.

Sans still looked confused, but also uncomfortable.

Frisk began to piece the situation together.

…damn. Satan could be a nice guy (girl fish in this case) after all.

Sans backed up a little more. "… what's this about?"

Undyne face palmed.

"You, jackass. And your whole depression episode. It's not safe to be an idiot, y'know. It made me realize you have issues, and you've had them for a long time. Papyrus has known, Alphys has known… and I think it's about time the leaking pipe is fixed, don't ya think?"

"…no. There's nothing that can be fixed. I'd rather just b-"

"You have been left alone, brother!" Papyrus argued. "It hasn't done any good! And I can't anymore… even if you are a lazybones who puts ketchup on everything, you're still my very precious brother! Like I said before, I can't watch you suffer without suffering too! You aren't the only one to care about people, brother. We care too." Papyrus sniffed.

Frisk couldn't help but join him.

They all…

This was so soppy and emotional, but it warmed her heart.

Just cause Sans could be an asshole didn't mean he didn't have amazing friends. Even some unexpected ones, like Rocky and Undyne.

Alphys was nervously twiddling her claws.

"I-I understand y-you've been t-through a l-lot… a-and I shouldn't t-talk… b-but y-you are h-hurting y-yourself, and t-that hurts the p-people around you t-too…" Alphys looked down.

Frisk remembered what Undyne said about her taking antidepressants and her having a role in the lab.

Frisk felt a rush of sympathy for the lizard.

"…" Sans stayed silent, eyes still looking around. His expression was carefully guarded.

Undyne flipped her hair back.

"I know this is unbearably cheesy, believe me. But it's all we could think of. If you haven't guessed, people care about you. We aren't the only ones either. Grillby, the rest of the people in town… they've all noticed too. Like I said, life is nothing without purpose. You haven't been living. I think it's about time we've forced your ass to keep going! In… a friendlier way. You need to start growing up and learn to go to other people when you need too! You should be lucky we aren't forcing you to get medical help, bone bag."

"Yes. I really wanted to but the human disagreed. With a valid point." Papyrus rubbed his chin.

Undyne snickered.

"Speaking of which, we never told her this was going on. Because we all know you have a… _special_ spot… for little "snap Pea" Undyne teased.

Sans's eye twitched.

Frisk frowned.

She wanted to be included too…

"You need to learn to depend on other people, nerd. Because we are living beings and one person isn't always available, or appropriate for a certain situation. I know it sucks depending on other people… believe me, I wish I could single handedly smack life upside the ass too… but sometimes it's what's most healthy for you. SO! We gonna make you rely on us! And enjoy it! We will drown you in sickly sweet sop until you do!" Undyne looked so cruelly excited for this "challenge."

"YEAH! UNDYNE'S RIGHT!"

Toriel giggled.

"I'd be a sufficient punishment for your behavior, I suppose."

"… dogs are friends, not food." Rocky added.

"… s-sorry. I a-agree with t-them…" Alphys said.

Sans's eyes scanned over them all again, and Frisk could tell he was losing his composure.

"L-look… I… see what you are trying to do, b-"

"BUT NOTHING!" Undyne yelled. "You've got friends! So we've got you! No more upset depressed episodes, or drinking or hurting yourself or any of that! Because we will all punish you with LOVE!"

Frisk flinched at how that came out.

Not the bad LOVE… hopefully.

"LOVE TIME!" Undyne screamed.

She started barreling towards Sans.

 _Oh no, it is that kind of LOVE! No, no no, this was going so well, don't -_ Frisk shot up.

Sans squeaked and tried to get out of the way of the speeding fish, but his crutches prevented fast movement and he was stuck in the fish's onslaught.

Undyne skidded to a stop before him and…

Wrapped him into a probably painful hug.

"GET OVER HERE YA NERDS!"

Sans's eyes were wide and black, processing the situation.

Frisk relaxed.

Oh. Good love after all.

"AWWWWW!" Papyrus was fast to join in the Sans torture. With both Undyne and Papyrus hugging with all their might (well, if Undyne was hugging with all her might he'd probably be mush) he probably couldn't breathe.

Toriel walked over calmly and bent a little, taking all three into her arms.

Rocky bounded over and joined as well, with Alphys trailing behind as last.

Frisk felt a warmth in her chest that brought tears to her eyes.

… _I guess there will be less words after all… Sans… I know you don't like this, but… what they say is right. You… should trust them._ Frisk felt a shudder go down her spine as a dark thought crept into her head.

 _One day… I may not be here. One way or another… you're right. It's… dangerous for a human to be living underground. I can't keep resetting. Plus, with Chara…_

Frisk shook herself.

Sans still hadn't reacted besides going limp and looking slightly pained.

Frisk began making her way down the stairs quietly.

Storm was circling the feet of everyone, meowing. However, the second he saw her approaching he bounded towards her and gave her a confused look.

From here she couldn't see Sans, but she could hear him start to say something, but it ended in a whimper. She hoped it wasn't from being crushed alive and was from something good.

Frisk stayed at the edge of the living room.

She wanted to join, but…

Undyne finally realized she was there.

"Shit! Go away, you aren't supposed to be here!" She hissed.

Frisk's tail swished with annoyance.

"You should have told me then."

Rocky jumped over the group hug to catch a glimpse of her.

"Hello Frisk!"

Papyrus leaned over to see her as well.

"Hello human! You slept way too late! You've been sleeping too much! It's a bad example!"

Undyne gave her a middle finger.

"Thanks for ruining the lesson, punk."

Frisk felt her ears edge back.

"… I just wanted…"

"Be nice, Undyne. I'm sure she's upset you left her out." Toriel said softly.

There was struggling from the middle of the group.

"Frisk?" Sans's voice was muffled, but it was raw and almost pleading.

Looks like they broke him after all.

"No! You lost human privileges!" Undyne said.

Rocky came to their rescue. "Awww, let her come over. She looks upset… and so does he. Undyne…"

"Undyne, my brother looks like he's about to cry. You can't take away the human. I'd be upset too! Plus… he's giving me the eyes! I can't take it! He's copying the human puppy face and it's super effective!" Papyrus got the weird pop eyeballs again.

"Really? Sans, that's kind of ridiculous Sans…" Frisk said, slightly amused he was using her trick she would use on Papyrus to get extra sweets.

"Yeah! It's pathetic, Sans…. Don't look at me! Stop! Aaaauhg, fine! Let him go!" Undyne practically threw Sans down.

Toriel was giggling.

Sans immediately started limping towards her and buried his face in her shoulder.

"… thanks for saving me. That was awful." He whispered.

Frisk chuckled.

"Really? That was the point." Frisk replied quietly.

Frisk bumped his skull lightly with her nose.

"Hope you learned your lesson."

Sans huffed and cursed under his breath.

Frisk looked up, hearing whispering. Undyne was whispering to Alphys… and they both looked amused.

"What?" Frisk asked suspiciously.

"Nothing!" Undyne shot back up.

"Alright, shall I cut the pie?" Toriel asked.

Frisk's head shot up. The smell had been making her mouth water.

"Hell yeah!" Undyne yelled.

Rocky barked with approval.

"I thought this was over…" Sans muttered.

"…eh. If there's pie I'm for it." Frisk shrugged.

Sans looked down and pried himself off of her shoulder. Storm was pacing around his feet, meowing.

Sans limped over to the couch and buried his face in the cushion.

Frisk didn't say anything.

 _Hopefully he's learned his lesson…_

* * *

 **Awwww, GROUP HUGS**

 **Frisk be leik oh nu why u no let me join?**

 **See? Undyne's capable of being nice. A little more information about Alphys revealed as well. She's being a little hypocritical still and she knows it. But she has an excuse because at least she isn't doing what Sans did.**

 **He's deeply touched but doesn't want to show it lol.**

 **Also, I completely forgot if Frisk knew that monsters go through heat (I'm sorry, I had too, it's funny XD plus my cat is in heat) so forgive me if she did.**

 **Anyways, reviews!**

 **Lauralie20: Yup! Sans is usually doing the saving seeing as he's better in fights, but there have been a few incidents where Frisk saved his bones. And yup, he needs a bitch slap. Unfortunately, he got humiliated group hugging instead. Hopefully he got the point. And I have checked it out, and reviewed! Imma go check up on it again for potential updates (for some reason I'm not getting notifications)**

 **GhostieDragon: that is interesting. Imma have to check it out, it sounds like something I would enjoy! I like games/books/shows with lots of lore and/or story. The only thing is that I don't have access to much, which sucks :b**

 **AvianSobriety: unfortunately, that wasn't the final showdown! Don't worry, it'll happen eventually. Hopefully that met your standards for now :b**

 **Thedyingjokepastaway: lol I could just imagine them all in a circle slapping each other. Sans would probably win seeing as he's made of bone, though. And I, just really bad at proofreading and such, plus typing all of this on a crappy iPad mini sucks -_- autocorrect is always on dope.**

 **FictionGirl11: yas. Go away Chara no one likes you (proceeds to get stabbed by ghost.)**

 **You have a good day as well :3**

 **Iluvfanfic: feelz.**

 **And I've got the first HT answer thing done, I may post it today, may not. I am standing out in the snow but it's not too bad :b**

 **Anyways, I hope you all have a good day and stay safe! And know de way.**

 **From she who is not secretly covered in fur,**

 **Comycat~**


	39. Chapter 38- Visit an old friend

**This is a cruddy update. Sorry...**

 **I came up with a random idea of putting the HT Characters in Fire Emblem Awakening clothing, like, having Frisk in the Robin clothes and Sans in Chrom's. Frisk looks FABULOUS XD haven't done Sans yet. Btw Chrom is so sexy lol and so is Gaius**

 **I didn't say that :3**

 **Anyways, I've started a new FNaF AU of sorts called Springheart. It's a comic over on deviantart. If you like FNaF, or just know even a little about it go check it out! It's pretty different from the FNaF cannon, so… lol. Springtrap is so fun to draw, I make him Floofy.**

* * *

Frisk stretched out on the old, lumpy couch with Sans sitting at the other end. She wanted to take a nap, but there was too much noise. Rocky and Undyne played Mario Kart again, with Papyrus cheering them on. Toriel had offered to make them a special dinner but had to rush back to her home fast to get some spices she needed. She also said something about inviting another guest, to which Papyrus heartily agreed.

Alphys had to go home for reasons unknown. She promised to text back tomorrow. Undyne said it was probably to clean up after Sans, saying that he left a hurricane ruin wherever he went.

Sans shared her tired mood, though at least he had a reason. Frisk was just tired. Storm was on her back, kneading her with his paws. He had learned to bite back the claws the second he got swatted by Sans for kneading him (and she had swatted him in return).

Sans seemed relieved the attention was off of him for the time being. She still caught his eyes scanning each face in the room thoughtfully. She didn't know what was on his mind but hopefully it was good.

Frisk shifted and turned away from the TV, bringing her broken hand up. It began to ache immediately from the way she was holding it before.

Frisk exhaled and put her nose under the blanket.

She felt Sans move at the other side of the couch.

"Hey, Snap Pea, you feeling okay? You've been kinda…"

"Tired?" Frisk finished.

"Yeah. Paps says you've been sleeping a lot since you came back."

"Cause I'm tired. You shouldn't be talking. You have the right to remain silent." Frisk huffed.

"Oh stop it." Frisk saw his hand extend and hid her head under the blanket before it reached her head. He still ruffled her hair from under the blanket though.

"You've been a bad boy. You shouldn't be talking." Frisk poked her head out again.

"…that sounds kinky. Anyways, you sure you okay? Is your hand bugging you or something?"

Frisk pushed Storm away from her face so she could breathe.

"Kinda. Can't be helped."

Sans looked back up.

"I feel ya. My knee's killing me."

"Did you tell Al?"

"No."

"So you didn't learn a thing?" Frisk sighed.

Sans looked at her challengingly.

"You didn't tell her your hand hurts. Who should shut their mouth now?"

Frisk gave him a whack with her tail.

Sans pushed himself off the couch with a groan. His crutches were forgotten somewhere. He'd only use them if he were dying.

"Imma get food."

"I can get it if you want." Frisk offered.

"Naw." Before she couch argue with him, he limped towards the kitchen.

Frisk sighed and buried her head under the blanket again, feeling Storm park between her legs and curl into a ball.

He was gone for about five minutes until there was screaming from the kitchen.

"SANS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! OUT!"

There was muffled talking and then Papyrus came in, carrying Sans by his underarms.

Papyrus dropped Sans on the couch.

She noticed there was red around the shorter skeleton's mouth.

"YOU DO NOT EAT RAW MEAT!"

"But I'm hungry."

"THERE IS NO EXCUSE! JUST BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON YOU CAN DOESN'T MEAN I WILL ALLOW YOU!"

Undyne had paused the game and turned around.

"That's disgusting man."

"It's not that bad." Rocky argued.

Frisk blinked.

Wow.

"I'm sorry…" Sans looked down and made a depressed face. "I was just really hungry…"

Frisk frowned.

Sans was being a sly bastard.

Papyrus instantly softened.

"Oh, it's okay brother! I know you haven't been eating much because you haven't been well, so I guess it can slide. BUT! You must eat healthier meals!"

"… brownie?"

"Sans, that isn't healthy!"

"…please?"

"FINE!"

Papyrus stomped into the kitchen, and Sans grinned at Frisk.

"… being chronically Depressed is awesome. I should do it more often." He snickered.

Frisk glared at him.

"BRO. I should punch your face in for that. You're such a dick." Undyne growled.

Sans flinched, and Frisk knew that wasn't a show.

"…"

"I AM JOKING! JESUS SANS!" Undyne turned back around to the game.

Sans kept wary eyes on her for a few more moments.

She hadn't seen Sans act like that before. He had either not cared or hid any fear he had. From what she heard the fight wasn't that bad, but maybe he unconsciously linked his knee to the fish.

Frisk sat up, trying her best to not bother Storm.

Papyrus came back in with a bowl.

It was far more than a brownie.

It had ice cream, fudge, whip cream… where was the brownie?

Frisk cast envious eyes as Papyrus gave his brother the bowl.

"The finest treat from the finest brother!"

Sans looked down at it.

"… where's the brownie?"

"Under the ice cream! "

"…thanks. Love you bro." Sans had the biggest grin, and he glanced over at her.

Frisk looked up at Papyrus pleadingly.

"… can I have some too?"

"Sorry, human. It is far too unhealthy! Even I couldn't eat that! But at least it will keep my brother happy and occupied." Papyrus walked back into the kitchen.

Frisk stared open mouthed.

"…traitor!"

She wanted to cry.

Sans was silent.

"… do you want some?"

Frisk turned away.

"It's too "unhealthy". She pouted.

"I only asked for a brownie. It's not like your overweight or something. It's the opposite. So get the spoon from your pie bowl and get over here, fluffy butt."

"… Fine." Frisk couldn't resist. She grabbed her spoon as fast as possible and crammed up against Sans, leaving poor Storm in the dust.

Undyne beat Rocky again and started whooping. She then turned to them.

"… are you seriously sharing that? I'd spear anyone who goes near that, because damn does that look good." Undyne looked down into the bowl.

Frisk glared up at the fish.

Sans shrugged.

"So you'd spear Al?"

"No… but that's different! Well… maybe not…" Undyne smiled cruelly.

Sans stopped chewing.

"I've got you figured out, skeleton. So I guess be both got secrets, eh?"

"…what?" Frisk looked between them.

"…keep your mouth shut and I'll keep mine shut." Sans growled.

"Deal."

"What's going on?" Frisk whined.

"Nothing you need to know. Eat the sweets."

Frisk looked between them again before digging in.

…

Frisk had a serious issue.

She was scared of the TV again.

Why was she scared of TV's!

She sat on the couch in the darkness for who knows how long, glaring at the screen.

It made her stiff with fear, and she couldn't explain _why._

It also smelled like sushi. Undyne stunk.

At least she was gone, as well as everyone else.

"… is this why you've been sleeping so much?"

Frisk yelped and rolled off the couch, landing on her bad hand.

"Whoa, you okay? Jeez, that had to hurt."

Frisk whimpered and rolled over.

Sans looked down at her, leaning on a crutch.

Her hand throbbed and she rubbed the outer wrapping, biting her lip.

"…"

Sans blinked.

"… are you scared of the TV?"

"…no…"

"…do you want to come upstairs?"

"…no…"

"I asked Papyrus to pull out the spare mattress before. I can bring it down if you want."

Frisk stared at him.

Why did he know everything?

"…if I really want too, I can do it… but…" Frisk rolled over and sat up.

"… can I see your arm?"

"Huh?"

"The right one."

"…oh. There's nothing new, I swear." Sans's expression fell.

"I… know… I just… I'm sorry…" now that they were alone, the "words" felt much bigger than they had before. Frisk shrunk a little.

"… this is kind of my fault… because I wasn't there after I said I would be… I feel so bad." Frisk looked down.

She heard Sans inhale sharply.

"No. It's not. It's mine. You had every right too. Actually, you shouldn't be here all the time. They were all right, I… guess I do need to rely on more than one person… it's not fair to put all of that pressure on you, for this reason. I was stupid. I took what you said out of context. I let my feelings get out of hand and released everything that had been pent up in a negative way. I never said it wasn't me, even when I was out of it." Sans sat down in front of her. "And I really do need to grow up. I don't like it… but today… I never expected that… now I can't let them down. I've always let people down… I don't want to anymore."

Frisk looked to the side.

She heard Sans's clothes ruffle.

"Here."

Frisk looked over.

Sans had pulled up his sleeve. The cuts looked mostly healed, but they now traveled up his lower arm as well. Frisk felt something catch in her throat.

"…don't look at me like that." Sans said.

Frisk looked away again.

"… there's nothing else I can say… that hasn't already been said, I guess. But… I can't help but feel it's still my fault."

She heard Sans sigh.

"…I know. There's probably nothing I can do to change your mind… but it wasn't your fault all the same. I just… want to forget this all and… try to move on. For real. Okay?"

"…ok…"

There was a few heartbeats of silence.

"…you want ice cream? Hell, you can have a whole tub of it. I'll tell Paps I ate it. Or the rest of the pie… there's more brownie… cookies, w-"

"We need to talk about Chara." Frisk interrupted.

Sans's eyes widened.

"Shit, I forgot about her… she ran out of power, correct?"

"Yeah. But for how long? She seems to be getting more strength, from the LOVE she got back in the other timeline. She's got enough Corrupted Determination that she can make a substantial being for a short period of time… and she's proven she can cause ruckus in that amount of time."

"That's troubling, considering we just pissed her off big time. But I'm more worried about her being able to control you again. She said she had no point, but… if she really wanted to kill you, she could just by doing that."

"She'd lose a lot of power, but if it came down to it… I don't think I could resist, you're right. That would be her last resort…"

She could see purple edge Sans's left eye light.

"That's not good. Also, we can't really kill her. She will keep coming back, and back again. Or, she'll start killing people again and do… whatever she wanted to do." Sans looked extremely nervous. She wasn't used to seeing him like that, and it bothered her.

"She says she has a new plan… just that we were in the way… whatever it is… I don't like it…" Frisk whined a little.

Sans realized he was spooking her and softened a little.

"There's nothing we can do but wait. And… we shouldn't go out alone. Both of us. In case she does decide to attack. Got it? That also counts being in the house alone… try to always be around someone. It's safer."

"… you're right. I guess it's all we can do now…" Frisk stared at the TV again.

Sans leaned forward a little.

"I know you're scared, Puppo. But I'm sure I'll be fine. No reason to go around being all spooked… k?" He reached forward momentarily before pulling his hand back, seeming to catch himself in the middle of something.

Frisk closed her eyes.

"I guess so…"

"Hey, I've got an idea. The old dude in the ruins? Why don't you give him a visit? Maybe that will calm your nerves a little."

Frisk looked up. She had completely forgotten about Asgore…

"… kinda a random thing to say, don't ya' think?"

Sans chuckled.

"Well, I'm tired of being and seeing everyone upset. Especially my little Lassie over here."

Frisk scoffed.

"Lassie thinks Timmy is acting a little Out of Character, hm? Since when did you drop the pessimism?"

"The glass is still half empty, but champagne is still champagne."

"Opportunistic pessimist?"

"Sure. But there's literally a half a bottle of champagne in the fridge."

"You are such an alcoholic. How'd the hell did you get it past Papyrus?"

"I put a grape sticker on the front. I stole it from Al. It's real fancy too. I figured no one wants me drinking alone considering what happened recently."

"I don't want you drinking at all. It's mine now."

"Nooooo… I will throw Storm in the toilet if you steal it." Sans's eyes narrowed.

"Throw Storm in the toilet and I'll rub ghost pepper on your hands one day when you're sleeping. Let's see how you feel after that."

Sans winced.

"Ow. I'd like to keep my penis."

"I still can't get over the fact a skeleton has a… Welp." Frisk blushed slightly.

"…remember Boners?"

Frisk stiffened and held back the laugh.

"…nope. Not go-"

"Boners."

Frisk felt the cap break and started laughing loudly.

Storm looked up from his spot on the couch, startled by the sudden noise.

Sans chuckled.

"Heh, still got it. Hey, let's go raid the kitchen already."

Frisk sat up, rubbing her stomach.

"W-what's… been with you and food lately?"

"I don't know. I've just been starving."

"You ate 30 pounds of meat in one sitting, you are not starving."

"That was after not eating for a week and a half."

"Oh."

"Alcohol." Sans stood up.

Frisk sighed and followed him, wanting to hit him over the head with the bottle.

…

Frisk was woken up by angry yelling.

"SANS! WHERE DID ALL THE FOOD GO OH MY GOD HOW MUCH DID YOU EAT!?"

Frisk rolled over, groaning. She had fallen asleep on the couch, and Sans was on the other couch. Her hand hurt. And her stomach felt like she had swallowed stones.

She felt like she had went from underweight to horridly obese in one sitting.

Frisk sat up and groaned again. Sans did similar, rubbing his neck and yawning.

"Mmmmm… wat?"

Papyrus came in and out his hands on his hips.

"You ate almost all of our food! How could you eat that much!?"

"I had help, bro." Sans replied.

"Thanks." Frisk mumbled. Storm was lying on his back. He had joined the… feast.

"YOU DIDN'T PICK ANYTHING UP!"

Frisk realized the room looked like the aftermath of a tornado, garbage strewn everywhere. She also realized Sans's shirt was on the floor and he was currently shirtless.

Why the hell was he not wearing a shirt?

"I can't, my knee hurts."

"Augh, Sans… that doesn't excuse the fact you ate so much! This is getting ridiculous."

"But depressed people have eating problems. I can't help it."

"Sans… oh. I'm sorry. I didn't tie it with your illness. Still. You must get it under control!"

"Sure."

Papyrus walked into the kitchen to probably clean up the mess left in there.

"You really need to stop taking advantage of his feelings, it's mean." Frisk told him.

"… can I have that cheese puff caught in your tail?"

"What?" Frisk looked at her tail. Indeed, a cheese puff was stuck in her fur. "Ew, no!"

Frisk pulled it out and threw it in the overflowing trash can.

"Awww I could have eaten that…" Sans whined.

"…you're hopeless."

Sans laid back down.

"Imma take a nap…"

Frisk rolled her eyes and scratched behind her ear.

"… you said something last night about visiting Asgore. Why don't we do that today?"

Sans looked up.

"…we?"

"Yes, we. We don't want to travel alone, right? And you can teleport. I understand if your knee hurts too badly, but…" Frisk didn't add in that she wanted to spend more time with the skeleton.

"…fiiiiiiinnnnnneeeee." Sans groaned.

Frisk smiled and stood up, ready to clean up the mess before poor Papyrus had an aneurism.

…

Frisk realized how long it had been since she was in this part of Snowdin forest.

Right in front of the giant doors to the ruins.

This place was quiet and swathed with nostalgia. She could remember her first, shaking steps she took out of the ruins and the first time she had met Sans, turning around to see a living skeleton.

 _So much has happened since then, huh?_

Sans was at her side. He had refused to bring his crutches.

Frisk swallowed and pushed open the doors. They opened easier than last time, a nod to the strength she had gained.

"No knock, huh. Ballsy, considering he's the former king." Sans commented.

"There's a long hallway here, he wouldn't hear us." Frisk explained, entering.

She had forgotten how long and nerve racking this hall was. Faded purple stones lining the floor and walls, every step sending an echo through the hall. Frisk was relieved when she saw the light from the magic torch and smelled the scent of Asgore's home. The doors were left wide open, presumably for this purpose.

Sans was looking around seemingly carelessly, but she could tell he was analyzing his new surroundings.

When they reached the stairs, Frisk felt a rush of nervousness. Would he welcome her? He had said she could visit anytime, but…

Frisk shook herself and made her way up the stairs.

"Just intruding, huh." Sans muttered behind her.

Frisk did feel bad for that, but there wasn't much else she could do.

And she missed the giant goat.

Frisk heard the floor creak as they stepped foot in the house. It seemed brighter than last time, at least compared to the darker walls and floor of the skeleton house. It had a woody, homey feel that she realized she had missed sorely.

"…Asgore?" Frisk called.

"Water is running in the kitchen." Sans informed.

Frisk pricked her ears and listened carefully. Indeed, she could hear the faint running of the faucet.

Frisk began to walk through the hall and approach the kitchen.

Sans followed silently.

Frisk peaked around the corner of the doorway leading to the kitchen. She could see Asgore standing in front of the sink, seeming to be washing dishes. He was wearing a large flower shirt and shorts that made him look like a Hawaiian tourist.

Frisk snickered to herself.

She then took a deep breath

"Asgore?"

* * *

 **The pacing died.**

 **I had to end it there due to some issues with my ipad. At least my eye is feeling better but Word hasn't been saving. I had to rewrite parts about three times. It sucks.**

 **Anyways, that's that. Goat dad has returned! He not gonna be too happy about Sans tho. :b**

 **Sans is finally being a smart skeleton.**

 **Sans is such an alcoholic. Bad Sans. He probably had a bad time over at Alphys's, due to his newfound addiction. Or he was too caught up in his heat to notice.**

 **AvianSobriety: certainly don't want to go to hell run by Undyne, lol XD or at least Sans certainly don't want too. It would be like in Dragon Ball Z resurrection F, when Frezia is sent to his own special hell full of cupcakes and rainbows and cute fluffy dancing animals. Lol.**

 **Guest: actually, no. Sans wouldn't view the rest as "pack" due to not being too close to them himself or due to them not being Moon-Bloods. He probably wouldn't even view Papyrus as a pack member. Frisk hits a special category of being Moon-Blood. Even then Frisk is more the one to view people as pack members because of her stringer mental connection to wolf. But idk. Lol. Sorry for rambling :b**

 **Iluvfanfic: I had kinda the same issue. I wanted to close the one but then my other would close, and vice verse. It sucked :/ plus any amount of light killed me.**

 **Lauralie20: heat is when an animal (cats and dogs, for example) go into a stage where they are rendered "needy". For reproduction. In cats they will lift their butts in the air, yowl, be overall noisy and react to any petting in a weird way. Thank god Sans wasn't doing Thayer though lol. However only females of these animals go into heat. But in monsters both genders can enter heat. They just act weird and are probably a little horny, to be blunt. They be smart to make vaccines that make it go away.**

 **Hug da Sans.**

 **And Undyne/Alphys will happen soon, don't worry. There have been little hints here and there, but there will be a thing with Frisk and Alphys just like in the game. Maybe a little different because we don't want Alphys torn to shreds by a jealous Sans but it would lead to the same result.**


	40. Chapter 39- A Father

**Sorry for the delay. Lots of things happened and it was just a hard week.**

 **I make updates over on deviantart (as well as inappropriate jokes) so if you want the full scoop check my status updates over there.**

 **Also, I've noticed drinking shows up a lot in my writing. Heavy Drinking is not a lighthearted issue. Sans is just a freaking troll. Plus is legal with monsters soooo :b well, here it is. Not in Skeledad. Not like it stopped him…**

 **Lol.**

* * *

Asgore stiffened a little.

Frisk felt a small pang of worry and maybe a little shyness, but she pushed it away.

Asgore turned around slowly.

"F-frisk?"

"…Hi."

When Asgore smiled the biggest smile in the Underground, she felt herself doing the same.

And when he got down on his knees and opened up his arms, she couldn't resist that as well.

She bounded over and accepted his hug request, burying her face in his fur. It smelled the same as his house, with a tiny hint of his fire magic.

"Little one, I never though… I'd see you again." Asgore sniffed.

"…told ya." Frisk looked up. She was aware her tail was wagging but she didn't care.

"Yes, I know." Asgore ruffled her hair with his giant paw. Frisk noticed that he was no longer holding back like he used too. Maybe he could sense she had grown stronger and slightly more confident? Or maybe the saying about absence making the heart grow fonder was true after all.

"Uhhh…" Sans was standing awkwardly in the doorway.

Asgore looked up, and the light in his eyes faded.

The two stared at each other for a short while, and Frisk felt a bit of iciness in the exchange.

 _What… why? Oh… I think I know… Asgore knows he hated humans…_ Frisk swallowed.

Maybe Sans coming along wasn't the best idea…

"… Hello Sans." Asgore said tightly, still maintaining his usual demeanor with bitterness swept under the carpet.

"…heya. Long time no see, eh?"

"Hmmm…" Asgore looked at her again.

"Is he your friend?"

Frisk nodded.

"Yeah. Actually, the only reason I'm still alive his him. On multiple occasions…" Frisk looked back over at Sans, and he gave a wink.

Good call.

Asgore's gaze returned back to the skeleton, and it was slightly warmer.

"Well, for that I must thank you. A friend of Frisk's is certainly a friend of mine."

Frisk breathed a sigh of relief, and she was sure Sans did too.

She knew not to mistake Asgore's kindness for weakness.

"So, what is it you are here for?" Asgore asked casually.

Frisk pulled away, brushing little white hairs from her shirt. She wondered if Sans had to do the same after getting a hug from her.

"To see you. I missed you. I forgot to come here sooner…" Frisk rubbed the back of her head.

Sans took a few steps forward until he was beside her. He still looked wary. Frisk was unsure if it was leftover from the Undyne incident or his… past with the king.

She was sure Asgore knew about Sans and his hatred of humans by the way Asgore's eyes fixed on him, watching his every twitch.

"It's alright, little one. I'm glad you've come at all. Have you fared well? Oh dear, your poor ear…" Asgore leaned in a little closer, looking at her scarred ear.

Frisk flicked it to show it functioned in full.

"Nothing much. I've actually accumulated a lot of scars and stuff but I'm still alive, I guess… that's a plus." Frisk chuckled nervously.

Asgore frowned.

"It still isn't very good, though I guess you have a point. My, is your hand hurt?"

Frisk held up the hand, bulky wrapping and all.

"Yup. Broken."

"Who treated it?" Asgore looked it over.

"Doctor Alphys. The royal scientist. The wrappings messy because I did the last wrap myself though…"

Asgore smiled.

"She was always a good monster, that one. I'm glad you've both met and have both made a good friend. I always thought you two would click."

"Yeah, I guess. Hey, why are you wearing… tacky stuff?" She wasn't used to seeing summer wear.

"There was a leak above my closet. I am currently washing most of my clothes and the rest are drying. I do keep the house nice and warm, though. I must look quite odd considering what you've seen outside." The big monster laughed.

"So… just like the old one, huh?" Sans chimed in. His eye lights were scanning the kitchen.

Asgore's smile wavered slightly.

"Yes, I suppose it was homesickness. Anyways… would you two like to stay the night? I suppose if… Frisk's friend wishes to stay he can sleep in the same room since there are two beds, but…"

Asgore's brow furrowed.

"Of course! If it's not trouble… and don't worry about Sans. I keep him in check."

Sans put his hands up.

"I promise not to touch your kind of adoptive child tonight. In any harmful ways."

"Child?"

"Come on, look at you two. He's your goat daddy."

"… don't say it like that. It's creepy."

"Don't worry, if it was like that he would no longer exist."

"I suppose I've always been fatherly to those that need it…" Asgore was staring at Sans now. Probably because of his casual, passive aggressive threat. And maybe because of the weird protective thing Sans had developed as of late.

Sans coughed. Asgore cleared his throat.

"Well, I am in the process of cleaning up for dinner now. I'm sure your… friend... will like to be shown around and you would like to be situated."

Frisk flicked her ears in approval.

"Yeah…"

Asgore smiled warmly and ruffled her hair lightly again. Frisk wasn't used to the affectionate action coming from someone other than Sans but it was welcome.

"Don't be shy, little one. No need."

Frisk grinned nervously before following Sans out of the room.

She met up with him in the hallway outside her former room.

"…you sure were in a hurry." Frisk noticed.

Sans looked away.

"… he's giving me both the dad treatment and he knows that I used to hate humans. He ain't trusting me anytime soon."

"I'm sure you'll get his trust. He's real nice."

"Pffft, I think I'd turn into a cat before that'd happen. Especially with… recent events." Sans rubbed his nose, hiding guilt.

Frisk sighed.

"What happened to putting the past behind you, Sans? That counts as past too. Besides, he doesn't know. And he doesn't have to."

"Well… man, Frisk, you make some really poor life choices sometimes. I hope you know that. Most people would take the healthy route and get away from the dangerous wolf skeleton. But nooooooo… ya' aren't as smart as you should be."

"I'm smarter than you." Frisk joked.

"True. Anyways, seeing you two interact like that… sorta made me happy. I remember how you said you never had a father figure in your life before. It's good you've found one now." Sans played with the corner of his jacket, old regret edging his voice.

Frisk blinked, feeling the familiar stone of guilt and sorrow in her gut. Sans was jealous.

"I never thought of it like that before… I guess… but you know, with a little work I'm sure he could be like a father figure to you too. From what I've heard he was like one to most of his former subjects. Sorta like Toriel… they look pretty similar, you know."

Sans snorted and covered his mouth.

Frisk raised a brow.

"What?"

"…do you not know?"

"What?" Frisk whined.

Sans let out s few stray laughs.

"… wow. Just wow. Toriel and Asgore used to be married. They made a baby. Asgore was Toriel's goat daddy first." Sans burst out laughing.

"What?! How… oh my god. How did I not know!" Frisk threw her arms up.

"Cause you're stupid."

"I am not! I just… don't think like you. Everything has to be about intercourse with you."

"Is that a bad thing?"

Frisk narrowed her eyes and smirked.

"It is if I tell Asgore."

Sans's smile faded.

"No. Nada. No consento. He already thinks there's a thing going on between us, he doesn't need anymore reason to suspect that."

"… he does?"

"Yes. That's what I mean by dad treatment. Actually… I get that a lot. Everyone in town thinks we're a deal. We are done talking about this. I'm going to the bathroom." Sans turned heel and walked down the hall, dropping the bag on the floor.

Frisk felt a prick of embarrassment and curiosity at why Sans just floored it. He didn't look too happy… was she that bad?

Frisk picked the bag off the floor and entered her old room. It had gained a chill from being closed off.

 _I guess it's a reasonable assumption… especially since we've cuddled before… platonically. But… we do sorta look like a couple, don't we? Huh._ Frisk put the bag on her bed.

She actually wasn't mentally cringing.

 _It's not like we are. It's just a little more emotionally dependent than most normal friend relationships because we both needed someone to lean on… but it's not in a romantic way. If I were a guy and or he were a girl it wouldn't look like it is._

Frisk looked at the wall, deep in thought.

 _Though, I suppose a relationship like that wouldn't be horrible. He's a complete idiot, but I guess there's some charm to that. If he were a good looking human I'm sure I'd be all over that… heh. Though looks never really mattered much to me. Which is why no one other than sweethearts like Rocky would ever be interested. Sans is probably weirded out by the idea. And I'm weirded out by the idea of a skeleton with a wiener. I still can't imagine… ew._

Frisk blinked blankly.

 _Oh well. He's intolerable anyways._

Frisk left the room and looked around the house a little, memories from what felt like forever ago but in reality was probably a month or two ago swarming her brain. How long was she down here anyways?

Frisk pulled out her phone and sat in the big chair by the fire waiting for Sans. It was covered in Asgore's white fur. She missed how she sank into the cushions.

Sans finally returned after she scrolled through a couple pages of memes and Papyrus.

"I can't believe you actually left the little fleabag at home." He commented.

Frisk looked up.

"…don't remind me. I hope he's okay…"

"I hope he gets in the garbage disposal."

"Sans! You do not think like that! You like him too!"

"No, I tolerate him." Sans plopped down on the arm of the chair like he owned it.

Frisk winced at the wrapping on his knee. It looked even worse than the wrapping on her hand considering how bulky it had to be to avoid even the slightest touch sending him into agony.

Frisk scratched behind her ear and continued scrolling through memes, feeling at home. Sans leaned over to look on. His phone was most likely dead or at home. What she liked to call in the "Sans condition".

Frisk bristled a little when she felt his fingers rub the tip of her ear ever so slightly, running them along the scar. Her eyes darted between him and her phone screen, but she kept silent.

Besides being unexpected, it wasn't that bad.

Frisk settled back into the chair and ignored it for the time being.

Asgore called in a few minutes later.

"Oh, Sans? Are you allergic to anything that I should know about?"

"Uhhh…" Sans looked up, looking kind of dazed. Was he falling asleep?

"…I'm a little lactose intolerant. Not too much that I would care though."

"Wait, you are?" Frisk looked up at him.

Asgore hummed something from the other room.

Sans rubbed his chin.

"Yeah. I'm too lazy to actually care though."

"You say that about a lot of things and most of those things are things that are very much worrying about."

"What? You think imma commit suicide with milk or something?" Sans raised his browbone.

Frisk frowned.

"Not funny Sans."

"Okay, okay, sorry. Heh… I can't believe humans are stupid enough to eat cool looking laundry detergent."

He was glancing at the picture currently on the screen.

Frisk felt humiliated for being a human at the time.

"I can't believe it either. And I have the feeling you would actually be one of them stupid enough to do it."

"If I'm hungry I'm hungry. But I just wanna squish it. I like squishy things."

"I've noticed."

Frisk made a mental note to get Sans a chew toy and probably borrow a metal chest plate from Undyne for extra protection.

The room was silent for a few more moments, save for the clunking made by Asgore in the kitchen and his carefree humming.

"… Frisk. I've been meaning to ask. I found an empty box of milky bones this morning in my room."

Frisk stiffened.

"…must be from Rocky?"

"Are you eating dog treats?"

"…no. Ask Grillby. I didn't eat the dog biscuit Rocky got me."

"No, I don't care. I just wanted to say share some next time."

Frisk looked up at him in surprise.

"Huh? S…ure?"

Sans broke into a laughing fit.

"Got ya, ya sick dog. Ya nasty."

Frisk slapped his arm and then pushed him off the chair for good measure.

Asgore picked this moment to enter the room with a plate in his hands.

"My, Frisk, I'm relieved to see you do not stand for a boy's antics. Reminds me of a certain someone I knew long ago. Except I was a very well behaved and mannered child." Asgore said the last sentence while looking straight at Sans on the floor.

Sans poker faced.

"… I didn't do anything. She ate milky bones."

"Sans! Shush!" Frisk threw her arms out, forgetting her phone was in her hands. It fell from her grip and hit the floor with a sickening thud.

Frisk felt her eyes bulging out of her head.

"…uh oh."

"…I've never seen a phone like that before. It looks nice." Asgore said awkwardly.

Frisk bent to pick it up while glaring at the skeleton on the floor across from it.

She flipped it over and found the corner of the screen cracked, but it was still on. Thank the phone gods.

Sans got up and bent his head over to glance at the phone.

"…hey. It still works."

"You aren't going to be that lucky." Frisk said coldly. "Unless your skull will maybe fix itself with a few cracks."

Sans's eye lights dilated and he took a few steps back.

Asgore burst out laughing as he set the plate of what looked like chicken onto the table. It smelled delicious, making her mouth water.

"Goodness have you grown! If I didn't know any better I would think you could be related to Toriel!"

Sans giggled.

"…I know her…" Frisk never thought of Toriel as the cold type, but then again she never seen the large monster in public.

Asgore's eyes widened a little.

"Oh… is she well?"

Frisk shrunk a little at the sadness in his eyes.

"…yes. She gave me that phone. And she treated me when I had a bad infection."

Asgore shuffled a little.

"Yes, she was always one to help those in need. Especially children. Come and sit little ones, while I get the rest of the food."

Asgore left hastily, leaving Frisk feeling guilty for bringing her up.

She understood now.

Sans reached over and pushed something fast under the chair before following her to the table. Frisk was used to sitting on the couch or floor by now, and felt a little awkward in the chair.

Frisk growled slightly when she felt Sans kick her foot. She ignored him until he kicked again, at which point she kicked back.

"Missed."

"Saaaaaaaannnsss, grow up!" Frisk whined. He'd already embarrassed her once with the… milky bone thing.

"Friiiiiiiiiissssskkkk, you sound like you could grow up a little toooooooo." Sans teased and kicked at her feet again.

Thank goodness Asgore returned carrying more food, and a pitcher of some sort of drink. Frisk sniffed the air and found it to be presumably fruit punch.

"If one of you would rather water or something else let me know." Asgore said before pulling over the bigger chair and sitting in it.

"No thanks." Frisk liked the fruit punch. It was rather sweet, if she remembered correctly. Hopefully Sans didn't find it too sweet.

"Naw, I'm good." Sans waved his hand.

He shot her a challenging glance before looking at the legs on the chicken.

Oh no he didn't.

"Frisk, you like the legs if I remember correctly, right?"

Sans's mouth fell open.

Frisk gave him a smug look.

"Yes, I do."

Asgore passed a plate with the legs, as well as the rest of the food.

Sans had the expression of sweet defeat.

"Since I'm a nice person I'll let you have one too." Frisk finally said.

"…naw. I just wanted to see how mad you'd get." Sans chuckled a little.

Asgore looked over at him.

"… be nice to Frisk. Even when I am not around. Just because I am not kind any more does not mean you can escape punishment young man."

"Hey, hey, I was joking! We mess around with each other all the time! Right, Frisk?" Sans looked at her pleadingly.

Frisk felt a bout of karma coming on.

"… you're mean to me."

"What!? I am not mean to you! I'm mean to just about everyone else save for Papyrus though, not you! I gave you the last chunk of cookie dough in the ice cream! Because you'd probably cry if I didn't." Sans added the last part under his breath.

"See! He made fun of me!" Frisk pointed at him with a horribly suppressed smile.

"You stole my blanket last night! And you always hog the couch!"

"You make bad puns."

"You breathe."

Asgore looked a little overwhelmed but didn't say a word.

…

Dinner and the consequent events went by without much of a hitch. Frisk and Asgore talked like nothing had ever happened, even the fight before she left. It hadn't even touched her mind.

She liked sleeping in a bed again. Once again, her hand. Especially with her crappy re-wrap.

Sans had a look of mischief on the other side of the room in the second bed, and she was getting suspicious. He would keep turning over and then turn back, smiling wider.

Eventually a familiar smell hit her nose.

Frisk sat up.

"Sans."

Sans hiccuped.

"Huh?"

"… where the hell did you get more alcohol. Give." Frisk put her hand out.

"Awwww, nooooooo…" Sans shoved something under the blanket.

"Now."

"Fiiiinnnneee." Sans handed over a startlingly large bottle.

"You have issues. And I'm serious. If you don't want to go to an alcoholic program I suggest you stop." Frisk swished the bottle around by the neck, shooting Sans a semi-serious look.

Sans sat up, eyes half lidded. Either he got a ton of this stuff or he was tired.

"I'm not doin' anything bad. M' fine."

"Not when you get upset. And I'm not joking this time Sans. Seriously. You know I know a lot more about alcoholism than you think. And I don't want to see you go down that path- which you almost did. So no more sneaking drinks. Plus what if Asgore notices? Why does he even…" Frisk couldn't imagine saint goat dad as the party type.

Sans slumped a little.

"Oh… right. Sorry, I never… thought about it like that. I hope my horrible influence isn't bringing back any sort of bad memories or something… if anything bothers you just say so, I won't judge… seriously, anyways. I'll probably joke being the jackass I am."

Frisk hummed.

"Self aware as always. And don't worry. My mom may be an alcoholic but she never physically hit me or anything, if that's what you're thinking. It really wasn't that bad. At least she wasn't like some of the other people I saw at the bar…" Frisk shuddered, imagining what it would be like to be one of their children.

Sans's mouth tightened.

"Abuse can be emotional ya' know. And from what I can tell you have gone through it. You really could have been an outgoing, healthy, confident person. At least, I think. You threatening to crack my skull is a clue."

"That's called being pissed. And I don't think I want to be different. I like my sense of not wanting to die." Frisk chuckled a little and sat down cross legged on the floor. "But… thinking about my mom… what happens if we ever get to the surface together? I'd have to go back to avoid conflict… and I don't think they'd take lightly to my new… additions." Frisk thumped her tail against the floor for emphasis, feeling worry meet with her still full stomach.

Sans's face twisted into a snarl.

"You are not going back there if I can help it. Actually, I think I have a few words for both your mom and… sister, was it?"

"Sans, no. You know it can't be that way. I'd… now isn't the time to discuss what if scenarios…" Frisk stopped, seeing the look on Sans's face as one she didn't feel like messing with currently.

Sans sighed and calmed down a little. She was sure there was a tinge of blue in his eye previously.

"Yeah, you're right… About one thing. The other thing… this isn't a what if. It's gonna happen. Remember?"

"I don't know. I have a feeling, but I don't know if it's just a hope or an actual instinct…" Frisk looked down.

Sans leaned forward a little bit.

"Look, you've got intuition. You've just gotta trust it a little more. And I've got the instinct to believe you can find a way, no matter how absurd it is. You are a pretty weird human, after all."

Frisk smiled and pushed his face to the side playfully.

"Whatever."

 **This is so suuuuuuucccccckkkkkkkkkyyyyyyyy, especially for the amount of time it took. Like I said, I've had it hard. Hopefully we get back on track soon with longer, more story moving chapters. We've got a little UndynexAlphys coming up, then we move onward! The end is in sight, and it kind of scares me 0-0 don't worry, we've got a little longer to go. Not even close enough to give a possible range of chapters where the end would fall. Unless I pull some random thing outta my butt, we're set to go.**

 **Updates will slow down as we hit the second semester, as well as because I am working on Springheart. I also did a few more art things over the weekend, and I'm working on the next HT asks. One is going to be rather long, but kinda cool, so stick with me people!**

 **Anyways, some little hints thrown here about a possible (most likely because I've got so many ideas) sequel. Also, I've decided that above ground is** _ **not**_ **going to be based off of real world geography. It will be set up sort of like Fire Emblems world- different geography but same rules. Also, politics and stuff would be set up just like real world. America does exist here but is not made up the same way as it is in the real world. Full details are still pending, and I don't know if they will even end up being relevant. And I may overdo them anyways because any possible sequel would have to be after Springheart.**

 **Whew. Too much rambling Xb**

 **Reviews**

 **Jaydomination: he's got a toasty house XD and he's just been chilling. Literally.**

Iluvfanfic: **yay**

 **Lauralie20: oh he has. And he's not a happy goat dad XD but he knows Frisky needs some sort of protection.**

 **And unfortunately no, I don't really know. I'm sure there are a few articles or tips on google, do some research and I'm sure you'll be fine :D**

Alia Sooan: A new reader :D welcome! I hope you have enjoyed it so far, and continue to!

GhostieDragon: I really don't have an exact answer, probably around half of what Sans ate. Sans can eat a TON. Chara and the King could eat a whole lot as well. Chara is a balance of physical and mental connection, and the king is physically connected but also inherently mental because... well, you'll see. Unless you already know from Deviant Art ;)

 **Sorry formatting got kind of funny, fanfic is on crack again. Halp.**

 **Now time to finalize the AHT's!**


	41. Chapter 40- Trust me now?

**Sans pov.**

* * *

Sans couldn't sleep.

He was still slightly peeved Frisk had taken his drink away, as he was legitimately thirsty. He was, however, guilty for bringing op memory of Frisk's mother. Just the thought made him want to sink his teeth into something. He didn't have much to lose, but that woman had a _child._ Then again, humans from his knowledge had to worry about creating accidental children and unexpected pregnancies. Which was probably why there were and always would be far less monsters than humans.

Sans watched as Frisk's shoulders rose and fell softly. She had curled up into a ball of sorts with her blanket, tail curled around her legs. He noticed she seemed much more at peace here than she did even back home… probably because it was much quieter and wholesome here then at the rather wild skeleton house.

Sans scratched around his nose-hole, stretching his leg slightly. His knee was bothering him still. It was an uncomfortably deep, stiff, nagging ache that traveled up his leg and into his hip. Alphys had braced it enough and given him a shot of longer term painkiller to help drastically, but walking was a pain. Sans was slightly agitated that it would bother him his entire life. Yet another reason to not get out of bed… maybe Papyrus would cut him more breaks now.

Sans noticed with a pang he was getting more and more anxious. He couldn't hide his newfound nervousness and it drove him insane. How did Frisk put up with this? He knew Frisk was absolutely ridiculous when it came to any sort of assertive interaction with anything other than a rock, and if she felt this nervousness all the time she was a freaking _god._

Maybe it was because of his deep fear of Chara.

He admitted silently to himself he wasn't entirely comfortable around Undyne yet, not until he was fully healed. He wouldn't be comfortable anywhere until he was fully healed. Problem: he would never fully heal. He felt horribly vulnerable. Especially now that Chara could be on his heels at any moment and he was lumbering around like a mentally incapable badger.

Sans rubbed at his shoulder blade before sitting up. He really was thirsty. He still knew where Asgore kept his (noticeably far expired) alcohol, but Sans didn't feel right doing that to Frisk.

Damn his feelings.

Sans rolled off the bed, grinding his teeth as his knee gave a sharp protest to the movement. He took a deep breath before hobbling towards the door.

He was also bothered by the fact he was no longer silent.

Too bad Chara didn't have to walk. She was a ghost. She could (presumably) float. So breaking her knee would do absolutely nothing other than provide a moments inconvenience. So sweet, sweet karma for him.

He remembered this place- or it's identical counterpart- almost exactly. He had forgotten that the other house had been built after this one to match it, but it was still rather… unsettling. The only time he had been here was for dark business.

Sans entered the kitchen and looked into the fridge, squeezing his eyes shut at the bright light.

"You're welcome to my refrigerator, little one."

Sans jumped at the deep voice, hitting his head off the top of the fridge.

Sans turned, rubbing the top of his skull.

"M'sorry, I'm real thirsty." He said rather diplomatically, though he knew he couldn't hide the annoyance in his tone.

"No, no, it was just a joke. You know I do not mind…" Asgore was trying so, so hard to keep up his friendly façade.

Sans grabbed a bottle of water and waved his hand.

"Don't need to hide anything now, Fluffy buns. The Frisky is asleep."

Asgore's smile wavered before finally falling.

"I hope you understand my… wariness, Sans. You are one of the last people I'd expect to… befriend a human. It's nothing other than concern for Frisk, my friend."

Sans leaned against the cool surface of the fridge while removing the top of the water bottle with a crack.

"Look, no offense taken. I get ya. I don't know what the hell happened. Let's say I left the doors open and somethin' unexpected got in. Your EX wife made me promise not to kill a human anyways, soooo… don't know if I love or hate her for it." Sans took a swig, trying to remain as calm as possible.

Asgore's forehead furrowed ever so slightly.

"Well, I'm glad she did. But I want to know Sans, can I trust you to not hurt Frisk? That's what I am most concerned about. You have a reputation for being rather… prone to baring your fangs."

Sans flinched a little at that and remembered huge green eyes full of tears and fear staring up at him in the dark.

"You can trust me not to do it consciously. I've grown too… bleh, care about the little turd a lot, y'know. Almost as much as I do Paps. Will I maybe by accident? It's a possibility. But everyone can hurt anyone and it's always a risk out there. You should know yourself." Sans forced himself to look into the king's clear blue eyes. "It's not a thing that can be avoided. And I _have_ hurt her. And she's hurt me. But we got over it and we've both grown. That's what matters."

 _Since when have I started taking like a sap?_ Sans asked himself mentally. This time he wasn't dancing around the truth with words and smiles. Something about Asgore made him feel like it was fine to put down his swords for once. And, he wanted to be careful with Frisk's adoptive dad.

Asgore's mouth was a tight line, but he could see that the king realized the truth in his words.

"I understand, Sans. But. That doesn't mean that I will let it happen again."

"Sure." Sans took another swig to ease tension. He felt weak, and he could feel an uneasy tremble in his right arm.

"There's another thing I am concerned about. I-"

Asgore was cut off by a shrill screech that made Sans's bones turn cold.

Asgore jumped a little, his heavy body making a stomping sound.

Sans _bolted_ out of the room, feeling his soul go haywire. His leg hurt so bad and he was half dragging it along, but he was more worried about what the hell just happened.

Asgore was quick behind, shouting.

"Frisk? Child? Is everything alright?"

When Sans got there, Frisk was crouched in the bed with her hands grasping at her head, ears held all the way back and chest heaving. Her eyes were wide and glassy, full of panic.

Sans entered the room slower, looking around. No one was here…

"Frisk? Hey, Frisky… what happened? Hey…" Sans reached the side of the bed and tried getting her attention, but she was locked, staring at the wall and whimpering slightly.

"What's wrong?" Asgore loomed over with immense concern.

Sans looked around again. There was no sign anyone was here.

"She's having a panic attack. I think she may have had a bad dream or something, or saw something that spooked her." Sans swallowed.

He touched her arm lightly. She cringed like she had been struck, causing him to pull his hand back suddenly.

"Frisk. It's me. Cm'on, calm down." Sans inched a little closer, feeling his soul worm with worry.

"Has this happened before, Sans?" Asgore asked, looking over his shoulder. He backed off a bit- smart.

"Yeah, not in awhile though." Sans put his fingers gently on her shoulder once more, not pulling back.

He gave her a soft shake.

"Frisk. Can you hear me?"

 _What if Chara did something to her?_ Sans wondered win a string of panic crawling up his spine.

He moved up onto the bed and sat, doing so painfully slow.

Frisk seemed to freeze for a moment and her ears twitched.

Sans inhaled deeply and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in to rest on his side.

Frisk stopped trembling.

"Hey, hear me now? You gotta breath… deep breaths, k?"

Frisk's glassy eyes shifted to his, and cleared slightly in recognition.

 _I need to talk to Alphys about this. It can't be healthy._ Sans begone to stroke her back like he did last time, remembering how it calmed her down rather quickly. Odd. He couldn't imagine someone stroking his spine being that comforting.

Asgore looked on with worried eyes and a heavy frown.

Frisk began to calm slowly but surely. Her breathing had returned to pretty much normal but she looked pained in some way.

"Hey, you back?"

"….yeah…" Frisk sounded so tiny and unsure.

"Are you alright little one?" Asgore finally asked in his deep voice.

Frisk's head snapped up, also making Sans's soul jump a little.

She relaxed upon seeing Asgore's face.

"…I think…" Frisk rubbed at her eyes.

Sans rubbed his chin.

"What happened?" Sans really wanted to ask "was it Chara?" But he knew he would not be able to explain shit to Asgore.

Frisk seemed to mentally get his concern and blinked slowly.

"I… I had a nightmare, and… I don't know when I woke up or what really happened, I was just… scared… I'm sorry I woke you up…" Frisk shrunk a little.

"No harm done, We were both up already. I just caught Sans stealing some water from the fridge. Such a naughty boy." Asgore said lightheartedly, either to embarrass him or make Frisk smile. Or both.

Sans realized he had dropped the bottle of water in his rush. He hoped the cap was on.

"…" Frisk didn't reply, though she shot him a semi suspicious look.

Sans looked her in the eye to say "I wasn't doing anything bad again" without alerting Asgore.

"I'm guessing you don't wanna talk." Sans stated. A part of him added some resentment in that. _If I spilled my guts, she should too._ However, the thought faded away quickly. They were different. Frisk was responsible. He wasn't.

Frisk looked away.

"I couldn't even if I wanted to. I don't remember any of it."

"Oh."

Sans kept up the circles his hand was rubbing into her back, and she slumped a little, eyes slightly unfocused.

"Well, is there anything you need, Frisk?" Asgore asked. He looked a little bothered by something.

 _He wishes he could do more._ Sans concluded.

"N-no…"

Sans stopped the rubbing momentarily to feel the tip of one of her ears. He was surprised she let him touch them earlier. He knew they were very sensitive.

They were chilly.

"You're cold." Sans observed.

 _You ain't getting away from me, Frisky Frisk._

Frisk shrunk a little more.

"Would you like to come out by the fireplace? I can relight it if you are cold." Asgore offered.

"…sure…"

"Hmmm." Asgore hummed before leaving with booming footsteps.

"… are you sure you're okay? You look hurt." Sans said once he had left.

"… I have a headache."

"Understandable." Sans laid on his stomach to reach the blankets which had been thrown aside and gather them up in his hands.

Frisk's tail wrapped tightly around her.

"It… it felt like my head was going to explode… and my heart too… I hate those…" Frisk moaned, rubbing her nose.

"I don't imagine panic attacks are very… fun. Speaking of which, I think we should talk to Al about these."

"You think? I don't have them very often…"

"You've had three, I think. And you don't have them very often, yes, but they may get to be more of an issue. And your breathing didn't sound too great. Kind of… wheezy." Sans chuckled dryly at the last word, thinking of the Pokémon.

"It's sounded like that since the surgery. Especially when I'm breathing really heavy." Frisk tilted her head.

"Has it?" Sans would have thought he'd notice, seeing as he was the one with the super hearing.

"Yeah. Listen close."

Sans leaned in and held his breath to hear better.

Indeed, there was a slight rasp to every stream of air her chest took in.

"… I don't like it."

"It's fine. I'm not in the mood for your protective behavior. Alphys gave me the okay."

Sans grumbled a little.

Frisk crawled out of the bed, and he noticed her legs were still shaking.

"Looks like you need my crutches more than I do." Sans commented.

Frisk smacked him lightly in the side of the head.

Sans shook himself and followed her out.

"You're walking with the speed of an 80 year old lady. Congrats." Sans smirked evilly.

"… if that's true then you walk with the speed of my dead grandfather 6 feet under."

"WHOA, FRISKY IS GETTIN' SAUCY!"

"You just yelled in my ear, asshat." Frisk growled.

"Look, I'm just trying to make you happy, okay?"

"Then don't be a hypocrite and compare my walking speed to yours because we all know you're just trying to make yourself feel better about it."

"You really are being a salty puppy." Sans muttered.

Asgore was looking at them curiously as they entered the room. Probably because of his yelling. Whoops.

"Well, the fire is started. If you'd like to sleep in my chair, you are very much welcome to." Asgore motioned to the chair.

Frisk looked around nervously, hugging herself.

"Go. To the chair." Sans demanded. Asgore did not seem to understand he was joking judging by the way his brow pinched together.

Frisk glared at him before slowly approaching the chair.

"If you need anything else, do not be afraid to ask, little one. Oh, and you are welcome to the kitchen." This time Asgore's face changed to an amused one as Sans's previous mistake was brought up.

Frisk nudged him slightly, and Sans looked downward in return.

The king left, looking over the two one last time before disappearing down the hall.

Sans gave Frisk a slight push.

"In the chair, fluffy."

"What if I want to sleep on the floor? Or back in the bed?" Frisk challenged. "You're supposed to be nice to me."

"Who said that?" Sans raised a browbone. "I don't see it written anywhere."

Frisk huffed and took her blankets forcefully from his arms before crawling into the chair, clicking the button that set the recliner out. Sans winced at the loud, sharp sound it made.

"It's called being a morally decent organism."

"Who's got time for that?" Sans decided he wanted to squeeze himself into the chair as well, and Frisk shot him a glance as he shoved himself beside her. The chair was rather plushy, and he felt himself sink into it. It also smelled like vanilla for some reason.

"Did I invite you?" Frisk asked.

"I invited myself."

"You are being so mean to me tonight. I just had a freaking panic attack and now you're taking my chair."

"I am not taking the entire chair. Haven't you heard sharing is caring?"

Frisk exhaled and shifted, resting her head on his chest.

Sans felt a familiar embarrassment prickle at his chest, but he pushed it away. It was only platonic. It wasn't weird. The closeness would do her good anyways. He had realized that Frisk, though she at first loathed the concept, very much liked contact. Actually, she was a pretty cuddly little piece of crap and Sans couldn't stand that _he_ always had to be in the receiving end. But he loved it all the same.

 _This is the closest it's ever gonna be._ Sans closed his eyes. _So enjoy it while you can, Sansy._

Frisk shifted once more, bringing the blanket up to her chin. Sans pulled in the edge so it lightly covered him as well.

Sans stayed awake long after Frisk fell asleep, but eventually the heat and the crackling of the fire lulled him into rest.

…

The rest of their visit at Asgore's went by uneventfully. Sans was sure he had gained a tidbit of trust from the king, as he didn't glare at him every chance he got. Frisk seemed overall normal as well. She had a knack of quick recovery, something Sans could lack at points.

Especially since he fell on the way back to his house and hurt his knee. Again.

He had to lean on Frisk the rest of the way because it hurt so bad.

Papyrus wasn't home, thank the stars. So he could suffer in peace.

Frisk immediately went to take a nap, probably tired from last night. Sans lazed around on the other couch, too lazy to even turn the TV on.

He wanted to sleep all day.

Unfortunately, the door had other plans.

A series of loud, rough knocks made him jump and curse.

Sans hobbled over to the door, the stupid cat at his heels. Storm really didn't get it, did he?

"Hey! Open the damn door!" Undyne yelled.

Sans froze with his hand on the knob.

Should he?

Well, she'd break it down if he didn't, so…

Sans opened the door a crack, growling slightly.

"Something's fishy here. What ya want."

"Shut up. Open the door all the way."

Sans did so, regretting he ever opened the thing in the first place.

"Where's Frisk?"

"Sleeping. And you're not waking her up." Sans stood stubbornly in the doorway. The cold air hit his face.

Undyne rolled her eye.

"Whatever. I have something I need her to deliver to Alphys." Undyne pulled out a letter.

"Why does she have to do it? Do it yourself, fish bones." Sans leaned slightly on the doorframe, eyes half lidded.

"I…umm…" There was a hint of red on her blue cheeks. "Got… to do somethin… look, I'm not asking you, asshole! I'm asking Frisk! And I know _she_ will do it."

"What's the letter?"

"If you open this I swear to god I will break every single one of your bones and throw you to the dogs in Blizzardland. So I suggest you don't."

Undyne threw the envelope in his face. It smelled like old paper and coconut.

"Give it to Frisk. I'm leaving. Goodbye." Undyne slammed the door in his face.

Storm mewed.

Sans pulled the envelope off and examined it.

It was shut do tightly you'd probably need a chainsaw to open it.

Sans wondered what the hell Undyne could want.

He then glanced behind him to the sleeping form of Frisk. Her tail and ears twitched slightly.

 _I'm not gonna make Frisk do shit. If she wants I'll do it. Then I can tell Paps I did something and then I can sleep. Sleep._

Sans pulled on his jacket and shoved the envelope unceremoniously into his pocket before leaving, the kitten following him out the door.

Sans looked down at the little gray poofball in the snow.

"Go back. I don't want you. Understand?"

Storm tilted his head.

Sans sighed and kicked some snow up with his slipper.

"Whatever. If you get eaten don't blame me."

Sans began walking to the entrance to Waterfall, where he would be able to teleport to Alphys's lab and deliver the letter Undyne was so adamant about.

* * *

 **Uh oh. Mistake, Sans. Big mistake.**

 **Comycat~**


	42. Chapter 41- Big Booty

**Still Sans POV.**

 **warning about my 8 year old humor**

* * *

Sans knocked on the door to the lab, shifting on his feet.

Storm was sitting right on one of his slippers. Why he wore slippers in snow he didn't know.

The doors slid open, making Storm jump.

"Who is i- Sans? Is something wrong?" Alphys looked like she just crawled out of bed, the gray fur on her muzzle ruffled. She scratched at her cheek.

"Hi. I've got somethin' for ya." Sans handed the letter to her.

Alphys took it nervously.

"Oh? Umm… hold on a sec."

Alphys retreated back into the lab, and a few seconds later Sans heard what suspiciously sounded like a chainsaw.

Then, a minute later, she returned with eyes rounder than gumdrops.

Sans blinked lazily.

"What. Cat got your tongue?" Sans glared at one of her many demonic balls of fur that was strolling around the lab.

"Um… its just… this is so sudden, gosh… I never knew you wrote like that… though I wouldn't put it past you, I guess." Alphys laughed nervously.

"Huh?" Sans looked back at the lizard.

"The letter, I-I… you know what, y-yes! I-I'll do it! I'll g-go on a date with you!"

" _What?"_

"I just need to get ready, hold on."

Alphys retreated back into her lab once more, leaving Sans standing in a very confused state.

"Date? What? I never… wait…" Sans looked down at Storm. If he weren't crazy he'd think the kitten looked amused.

"Undyne set me up. That b-"

Storm meowed loudly just as the curse fell off his tongue.

"-and now I have to… I don't wanna say anything now, she looked excited… uuuuggggghhhh…. Wait." Sans looked up thoughtfully.

"Maybe… if Frisk sees me with Alphys, I can figure out if… how she feels… I guess my skull isn't so empty after all, eh?"

Storm had his head tilted quizzically.

"It's not like imma try to deny it anymore. I'm done with that. Too much effort. This can be practice. Of something that's never going to happen because I am going to be forever alone! Un- OW!" Sans jumped as pain pricked up him leg.

Storm had batted his leg with his tiny, thorn-sharp claws.

"You little shit." Sans growled. "If Frisk wouldn't kill me I'd kill you and make me some stir fry."

Storm was slightly vibrating.

Sans wondered if he wanted to go inside.

Oh well. Too bad.

Alphys returned wearing a rather… revealing polka dot dress with a heavy metal device wrapped around her arm, a single red light blinking slowly. It was probably to help regulate her temperature.

Sans felt a slight burn in his cheeks.

This was awkward.

 _Anything. To deal with this problem of mine._ Sans shook himself.

"So, um, before we start, I wanted to g-give you s-some… stuff… to increase your… affection stat?"

"If it's alcohol gimme. Just don't tell Frisk." Sans was sure Storm would claw him again.

He was only mildly joking.

"Sans, stop it." Alphys chuckled dryly. She didn't find it as funny as he did. "I've got something much healthier. Something like… snow proof cream for your… scales…" Alphys pulled out a tub. Sans raised a brow.

"Um, not that, um… how about some hair… no, not that… I've also got this, it's a-" Alphys pulled out a box.

Sans burst out laughing, so badly he fell over due to his knee. Storm had to scramble out of the way.

It was a strap on _wenis_ toy for women.

Presumably.

Alphys went tomato red.

"A… not anything you need… why is that here?" Alphys tossed it into the snow behind her.

Sans couldn't stop laughing, and his rib cage hurt.

Whenever he felt like it was over images crept into his mind that prevented him from doing so. The snow burned and his knee was killing him but it was worth it.

"S-Sans, are you o-okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, m'fine… heh." Sans wiped tears from his face and sat up.

"… just forget the items… now… I think I know a place we can go! The garbage dump!"

"… that's your idea of a date?"

Alphys looked around awkwardly.

"…yes…"

"Whatever." He'd have to post pictures. Unless Frisk happened to be hanging around the garbage dump.

And so they went.

The garbage dump was long frozen over and it's use had been ceased because of this. There was a ton of garbage strewn about, but there was some pretty neat stuff that fell from above ground. Like some… not Papyrus appropriate movies.

Sans chuckled at the memory.

He'd have to troll Frisk into watching it.

With him in the other room. He wouldn't be able to be anywhere near her with that crap playing.

Storm shot him a glare.

 _Dayum, cats smart. For a cat. Cats are stupid._ Sans stuck his tongue out at the cat.

Storm's eyes remained fixed on him, and it almost looked like they were bulging out of his head.

They finally stopped in front of a frozen Waterfall.

There was a few moments of awkward silence. Sans stuck his hands in his pockets.

This wasn't helping.

Alphys finally spoke up.

"…so… y-you like anime, right?" She asked.

"Some." Sans scratched his forehead.

"Y-yeah! Me too… you know this, though…" Alphys shuffled, fidgeting.

Storm was sliding on the ice. Sans was nervous the kitten would be stupid enough to fall down a hole or something.

"… what ab-"

"HEY!" A voice called.

Sans stiffened.

Undyne.

"Oh no! It's Undyne! She can't… see me… I've gotta hide!" Alphys ran behind a pile of garbage behind him.

Just in time to avoid a running, panicked looking fish.

"Sans! Thank god." She puffed, slowing down. "I just realized it would be a really, _really_ bad idea if Frisk… wait, did you do it? Please tell me you didn't deliver it! That would be ten times worse!"

"Do you want the truthful answer or the happy answer."

"DAMMIT!" She stomped the ground, and the ice splintered under her foot.

"Where Is she?"

"…dunno." Sans figured that Alphys hiding signified that she didn't want to be found.

"Shit! I thought I heard her, I'm gonna look around here! Plus, I have a feeling you're lying. Cause you're a dick."

"I'm not denying." Sans watched as Undyne ran to look at the opposite end of the dump.

Sans turned as soon as she was out of sight.

"... I guess it's obvious, huh." Alphys crawled out.

"Yup."

"I… I like her…"

"Ya like a lot of people."

"I-I know! It's just… you know. From back… a while ago… I thought that… maybe you still… felt the way you used too, and I… I don't. I would feel really, really bad, a-"

"I didn't write it."

"Y-you didn't? Thank god!"

"Hey! I'm not that ugly, am I? Anyways, jokes aside… yeah, I don't. Sorry."

Sans remembered dark days down in the lab, where some days Alphys was the only living thing he saw. He knew any feelings he had developed down there were just fragile, situational things and in the end, though he had made so many stupid choices in his life he had at least made one smart one.

"Then… why'd you accept?"

Sans looked away.

"Cause… please don't get upset, I wanted to… practice. For someone."

"Oh. So we're in the same boat. That was part of my reason too.

"…" Sans didn't know how to feel. Normally _he_ was the player.

The player has been played.

"But… Sans, how will I ever tell her?" Alphys's voice grew sad.

"Huh?" Sans snapped out of his thoughts.

"About… you know… the truth. I… I don't think I can… I don't know what's better. A life of lies where one is happy or a life of truth where no one is?"

Sans closed his eyes.

"Your asking me? The one notorious for making bad choices? Heh… really, it's up to you. The truth hurts, yeah, but it's over fast. Lies eat away at ya, slowly. I… I found that it isn't all that bad to let go sometimes… with someone you trust. It's like a splinter. It hurts and you don't want to pull it out, but if you go through the pain it will feel a hella lot better. If you don't, it will get infected and gradually get worse. If that makes sense."

Alphys was quiet for a moment.

"…yeah, it does."

"…so. Why do you like Undyne?" Sans tried to ease off the tension.

"… well… she's really strong, and passionate! A-and, she's really kind too, and she never gives up! And… she has the _best_ butt! Like, I just wanna-" Alphys did a motion with her hands.

Sans leaned back a little, exchanging looks with Storm.

That got weird fast.

"And her boobs are so well rounded and perfect!"

"WHAT?"

Undyne ran into the clearing at the best or worst time, he couldn't tell.

Alphys froze.

"…"

"…" Sans felt a bead of sweat run down his skull.

Welp.

"…h-hi, Undyne…"

"…who were you talking about, Alphys?" Undyne's eyes were round.

Alphys was sweating profusely.

"W-w-well, y-you see, I-"

"She was just saying your booty has its own zip code! She likes you! You like her! You're welcome!"

Sans took a step back.

Sweet old silence.

"…Al?"

"U-u-ummm, U-Undyne, I-I…" Alphys shot him a betrayed glance.

"…tell me the truth Al…"

"… I… well… I do like you… and… those comics, they… they're all fake! Anime isn't real! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

 _Is that the truth she was talking about? It's Undyne fault if she's stupid enough to think that stuffs real._ Sans crossed his arms.

"Al, I don't care about that! I didn't hand out with you just for that! I like you too, cause your _passionate!_ You give 100% into the things you care about! You're such a nerd and I love it!"

Sans looked away and rubbed his nose hole.

This was disgusting.

"R-really?"

"HELL YEAH!"

Undyne ran at Alphys and grabbed her, grinding her knuckles into her head.

"Hold on, imma go home and get something! STAY HERE, NERD!"

Undyne ran off just as fast as she came, whooping.

Alphys was smiling the biggest smile she ever smiled.

"…I'm sorry you had to see that." She rubbed her cheek.

Sans shrugged.

"I'm sorry I saw that too."

"… so… who do you like?"

Red lights.

"…" Sans looked away, his turn to be nervous.

"… it's Frisk, isn't it."

"No."

"Sans, y-you silly goose! We all know it!" Alphys laughed.

"… she's got a better butt that Undyne." Storm's head whipped around to glare at him.

"…she does not!"

"She does too."

"…I think you two would be cute…" Alphys wasn't arguing.

Sans didn't know if it was denial or acceptance.

"…"

"I never thought you could b-be so shy! You're blushing! Awww…"

"Tell no one or I slit your throat and open a Chinese restaurant in your lab."

"Awwwww. You should go for it!"

"No."

"HEY AL!" Undyne called from probably ten miles away.

"Imma go. I don't want to talk about this anymore. Bye."

Sans picked up the kitten and left before she could say a word.

He made sure to stop outside of Alphys's lab before going home to… pick something up.

…

(Frisk POV)

Frisk groaned and rubbed her eyes.

She felt a little better…

The blanket she was wrapped in was nice and warm, but it didn't compare to the cozy chair by the fire, cuddled up against Sans…

Frisk shook her head.

Weird.

She sat up, scratching her leg with her other foot.

"Hey, Frisk, something's wrong with Storm!"

"Huh?" Frisk immediately woke up, all feelings of tiredness out the window.

Storm came hobbling in with something strapped to his back. He did not look please.

Frisk squinted and looked closer.

It was a…

It was a purple penis.

A purple, toy penis.

"SANS!"

Hysterical laughter erupted from the kitchen as Frisk set on saving her poor kitten from this trauma.

When she got it unstrapped she made sure to beat Sans with it.

…

Frisk nearly doubled over after hearing about Sans adventures with Alphys.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes." Sans rubbed a spot on his skull where a bruise had formed. Served him right for torturing her poor baby kitty.

Storm was currently in her lap as she sat on the couch, Sans on the other side. Storm kept staring at Sans with big round eyes.

Frisk stroked the kitten. He let out a soft, tumbling purr.

"What the hell did Undyne write!" Frisk asked.

Scratch that, she didn't want to know.

"I dunno. Probably something real bad. But now they're together. So…" Sans was looking at her expectantly. Scanning her face for something.

Frisk shook herself.

"So at least that's done. And Undyne let you go in one piece. Question though. Why the hell did you let Alphys go on as long as you did?"

"UM." Sans looked away, bothered by something.

Frisk leaned in a little closer, intrigued.

"I… didn't want her to… get upset."

Frisk smirked.

"That's the biggest lie I've ever heard from you. Do you like her?"

"No! I said I'm not interested." Sans waved his hand. "I've got my eyes on someone else?"

"Who?"

"None of your business."

"Yes it's my business. You're my best friend. Besties tell each other everything."

"One- I never said I was your best friend. Two- you don't tell me shit. Like how you're on your period right now. I respect your privacy so I'd like it if you'd respect mine."

"…how'd you know?"

"Those pants need a wash."

Frisk felt her cheeks burn.

Well that's embarrassing.

"…I hate you."

"I didn't make you go into your monthly, don't blame me." Sans giggled a little. "But, eh, if you don't mind, do you have your eyes on someone yourself?"

"Huh? Me?"

Sans rolled his eyes.

"No, the cat."

"Very funny." Frisk huffed. "No. Not really. Getting through life in one piece has been my priority thus far. Besides, I wouldn't known if I do like someone or not. I'm not too good with the love life yet."

"I've noticed." Sans grumbled.

Frisk wondered why he seemed a little frustrated.

She ignored it and sat back, letting Storm bite her hand playfully.

"I hope she's not going to notice the… wait, she was going to give Undyne a sex toy?" Frisk cringed.

"Eeeeewwww…"

"Monsters aren't as restricted with sex as humans are, remember. Because they don't have to worry about accidents and some other… issues. Plus, remember we reach sexual maturity a little earlier. Undyne lost it when she was 14."

"How does that not surprise me." Frisk didn't like talking about this. How Sans could not feel awkward she didn't know.

"I know, right? Surprisingly she lost it before I did. Because I haven't yet. As much as you may not believe."

"Tmi. I don't need to know this."

"Yes you do."

"Why? Am I taking a test? Is this life knowledge that will benefit me? Is the fact you are still a virgin going to save my life one day?"

Sans snorted.

"Maybe. You never know, Snap Pea, you never know."

"… are you gay?"

Sans doubled over.

"WHAT?"

Frisk started laughing.

"I am not gay! I'm straighter than the pole that Undyne dances on! I like my women." Sans shuddered a little.

From which thought she didn't know.

"Undyne probably pole dances. And guess what. Maybe she's teaching Papyrus too." Frisk giggled.

Sans stiffened.

"… I will burn her alive if she corrupts my b-"

Sans's phone started ringing mind sentence, cutting him off.

Sans pulled it out of his pocket and answered.

"Hello? Paps? What?" Frisk pricked an ear to listen and shuffled a little closer.

" _I was just with Undyne and Alphys! They are a couple now!"_

"Yeah, I know."

" _But Alphys…. Said some things that bother me. I think you should visit her lab. Now._ "

"Huh? Why?"

" _Because, as you like to put it. Only good can come out of this, I'm sure!"_

Papyrus hung up before Sans could respond.

Frisk felt a chill go down her spine.

Why did this feel so…

Sans turned his phone off and turned to her.

"Welp. What should we do?"

"I… we should go." Frisk saw a flash of white in the corner of her eye as her soul wolf-Snow- decided to show up. Her form was transparent and glowing as she looked back at Frisk with wise green eyes.

Looked like this would be important.

"If you insist, I'll pry my lazy ass off this couch again for something stupid."

Frisk shot him a serious glance.

"I really feel like we should go." Frisk urged. "I've got a feeling…"

"alright. Let's go. After you change your pants, at least. I assume you want to."

"Yeah…" Frisk tried to shake off her embarrassment and hurried up the stairs.

…

The lab was gloomy and quiet. Most of Alphys's cats were sleeping or looked on with narrowed, glowing eyes as they entered.

"Al? Hey, Al?" Sans called.

His voice echoed with no response.

Frisk looked around, ears twitching.

A piece of paper caught her eye. It was right in front of the elevator that lead down to Alphys's fur lab and some other floor.

Frisk approached it and picked the paper off the floor.

The handwriting was extremely messy, and hard to read.

Sans peaked over her shoulder.

 _To anyone who is concerned-_

 _I've made so many mistakes. Some of them below this floor. I think it's time I face those_

 _Mistakes and start fixing what I've made… if I do something stupid…_

 _Go down to the basement floor using this elevator. Be careful._

 _I'm done running._

Frisk felt a tinge of fear.

Something stupid?

"…I see what Paps meant." Sans was frowning.

"… you don't think she means…"

"Look, she said if. I'm sure she's fine. We should still check up, but I'm sure she's fine." Sans eyes fixed on the elevator.

Frisk swallowed and approached it.

It slid open slowly.

"Basement… is that this one?" Frisk pointed at a faded, scratched button. It looked like someone took a knife and hashed out the label.

"Yeah." Sans nodded as he entered.

Frisk pressed the button and watched as the doors closed.

Her heart was beating fast.

Why?

The elevator groaned and began moving.

Sans leaned on the wall beside her, his hands in his pockets.

Frisk took a deep breath and let his presence calm her down.

It was fine.

Everything was fine.

Every breath felt like an hour, the groaning of the elevator drowning out her thoughts.

An acrid smell hit her nose.

Frisk straightened, sniffing the air.

It didn't smell right…

"What's up, Puppo?" Sans asked.

"It… something's… something smells bad." Frisk looked around nervously.

As she did so the elevator stopped with a crunch.

Sans stiffened beside her.

"…that didn't sound…"

There was a snap, followed by another.

Frisk moved a little closer to Sans, officially _terrified._

The train crash played in her mind.

"Sans? Why is it doing that?" Frisk asked, voice shaking. Another snap.

Sans's eyes were darting around the elevator. It felt so small and crammed now.

"I don't know. It's okay, calm down, I'm sure it's just jammed. It'll fix." Sans placed his arm over her back in a calming gesture.

Frisk's throat felt tight.

Suddenly, the lights went out.

Then a red light followed by an unbearably loud alarm showed up.

Frisk yelped and covered her ears, legs shaking.

Then it felt like the ground disappeared beneath her feet, and Sans was only able to let out a single warning yell before they were _Falling._

There was a crash and everything went black.

* * *

 **XD omg why did I do that I've been in such a perverted mood since I've watched the duck suck chica video (don't ask, if you're curious go over to DA or look it up on YouTube)**

 **I think I'm the only person in the world who can brag about having a story where a living, alcoholic skeleton gets beat by a purple strap on adult toy.**

 **Lel.**

 **I have a feeling the jokes in this chapter went a bit too far but whatever.**

 **Also, a little peak at some past events!**

 **Anyways, I'm sorry for the delay on last chapter, fanfiction wasn't letting me upload documents. It was supposed to be our Saturday. So to make up for it you've got this abomination! Yay!**

 **Now time to go slave away on Springheart.**

 **From the wolf in the mountains,**

 **Comycat~**


	43. Chapter 42- Ya moron

**Hello!**

 **I Is back XD**

 **There have been so many things going on. The Florida shooting being one of them. 18 shootings this year :/ not even two months in. That's bad. Very. We need action. Unfortunately, the idiots in the government can't even figure out a baby gate without donations from the NRA, much less fix this problem.**

 **Even though, the stand the survivors are taking brings tears to my eyes. Bless them. Bless them all.**

 **We call BS.**

* * *

 _Unnnnnhhh_

Frisk felt ice cold. Her head was fuzzy and clogged, like she was in a pool of molasses and everything was delayed and slow.

Then, as suddenly as a gunshot, everything snapped in place.

 _Holy crap!_

Frisk shot up, wincing as her head swam. It was dark- close to pitch black. The only light was a very faint glow from the elevator crack.

She felt overall fine, save for a new pain in her hand and a slight throb in the head.

There was a soft whirr in the distance. The air smelled stale and burnt.

Her breath came out in pools. It was so _cold_ down here.

Frisk hugged herself and looked around slowly, feeling a horrible dread worming in her gut.

She already didn't like this…

Her eyes fell on Sans, and it took her moment to realize he was still out.

Frisk bit her lip.

 _He's going to hurt, with his knee the way it is. I hope he's okay…_

Frisk got onto her knees and crawled over to him, placing her hand lightly on his skull.

He felt cooler than usual, as she had expected.

"Sans? Hey… wake up." She shook him a little.

He didn't respond at all.

Frisk felt her eyebrows pinch together in worry.

 _What if he has a concussion or something? I…_

Frisk pulled out her phone and was relieved it still powered on.

However, the cell signal was out.

Frisk tried calling Undyne, to no avail.

 _What if we can't get out? We can't get help…_

A whine bubbled out of her throat. She couldn't stand the dark feeling in her gut that told her this place was _bad._

Frisk rolled Sans over onto his back and tried waking him up again.

Still no response.

Frisk swallowed hard and got up, walking up to the dark elevator door.

The button to open it didn't work. In fact, none of the buttons did.

 _Is the power out? Is that what made us fall?_

Frisk tried to pull the doors open. They didn't budge one bit.

Frisk felt her ears flatten against her head.

 _Oh no… we're stuck. We're stuck in here…_

Frisk tried a few more times until sweat began to run down the sides of her head. It was so cold, and the beads froze to her skin.

Frisk rubbed them off and began pacing back and forth from nervousness, her footsteps echoing.

It felt like hours had passed, walking from wall to wall and seeing her own breath pool out in front of her.

Eventually, a groan sounded beside her.

Frisk jumped a little.

Sans sat up slowly, rubbing his skull. He bent and retracted his good leg rhythmically, as if something was seriously hurting.

"Sans?" Frisk padded over to him, no less relieved. Upon getting closer she saw he was shuddering.

"Man, how long was I out?" Sans squeezed his eyes shut.

"I don't know, I don't even know how long we've been down here." Frisk's voice was shaking.

Sans opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"Shit, I think it lost power. That's not good. I- Nggghh." Sans tried to move but then quickly froze.

"What?" Frisk kneeled, feeling a little light with worry. "Are you hurt?"

Sans was grinding his teeth.

"No shit Sherlock. I think I hit my knee or somethin' cuz god it hurts… and she could have hit the heat on, it's colder than Blizzardland down here."

"Do you think it's broken again?"

"No. I'd be screaming if it was, most likely. I'll go down, I'm sure… is the elevator opening?" Sans looked at the door.

Frisk shook her head.

"N-no… I tried, but… I don't like this, Sans."

Sans's expression softened a little.

"Hey, I know. It'll be fine. If we don't get it open I'm sure Al will come along. I don't know what's got your panties in a twist about this but I'm sure it'll be fine."

"The elevator just fell! We're stuck in here! In this place! What am I supposed to do, be sun shine and rainbows?!" Frisk snapped.

"No, but you can calm down a little. That was all I was saying. Getting all panicked and scared isn't going to help anyone." Sans's voice was stiffly even.

Frisk inhaled deeply and slumped a little.

"Sorry, it's just… my instincts are screaming something is horribly wrong and I… I can't help but be scared… it's not something I can do. I know it's pathetic." Frisk spat the last part out. She thought she had been getting better. Why was she not strong now, after all she had been through? Why was her fear so stubborn? Was she just inherently a coward?

"It's not pathetic. It's normal. Stop acting like that." She felt Sans's hand on her head, ruffling her hair slightly.

"I shouldn't be this way now, after everything."

"Who said that? Someone making up rules about what should happen after you've been in a scrape or two? I think I've said it before, you can't get rid of fear. It's always gonna be there, Snap pea. So don't get all upset over it. Now… imma get up in a sec and see what I can do about that door."

Frisk followed his gaze to the blocked exit, so frustratingly close yet unable to function.

"Do you think you can use magic? Blast it open?"

Sans shook his head.

"I'm certainly not summoning a Gaster Blaster. The meds Alphys put me on makes my magic all sticky. So less of it escapes and stays inside to heal and regulate. It's hard to manifest and use in that state."

"You're on meds?" Frisk's brow furrowed. She specifically didn't want Sans on any sort of drug.

"Yeah. I would've thought the bottle in the medicine cabinet would be obvious. Don't worry, I'm taking what I'm supposed to and it isn't lethal in any way, at least the amount she gave me. Actually taking a bunch is inconvenient, it could cause magic block and it's not fun."

"What's it for?" Frisk asked.

"Alright, miss nosey, it's like I said before: keep my magic where it needs to be and help out my body back in balance. Physically."

"Maybe it will fix your intelligence." Frisk teased, smiling a little. She felt a little more at ease just talking. Sans seemed more eased as well- like he predicted, his knee must have calmed a little.

"Shaddup." Sans pushed her arm. "Time to see what I can do."

Sans grunted and started struggling to his feet. Frisk let out a high pitched noise and moved in to help him.

"I can do it myself, just gimme a minute." Sans whined.

Frisk ignored him and supported his weight, getting him to his feet.

"You can stop being an arrogant jerk and accept my help." Frisk suggested sarcastically.

"Screw you." Sans grumbled.

He, surprisingly, didn't pull away as he limped to the door. She even thought he leaned in a little more, though if it was just her imagination she was unsure.

Sans glanced at it, tapping it with his fist.

"Yep, closed tight. Maybe… if I can get a bone here, I can pry it open. If we can overpower it just a little it should open up just fine." She felt him go tense and blue edged his left eye light.

Frisk watched as a blue smoke appeared and curled in the air, and for a few minutes did nothing.

Eventually, after some frustrated grunting, a bone was formed. One side tapered down to a thin point, presumably so it could fit between the door crack.

"Are you sure it's not gonna snap?" Frisk asked.

Sans was panting slightly from the effort.

"Dunno. It's what we got."

Sans lodged the bone into the little crack in the door. A glowing blue essence surrounded it as Sans began to use it to pry at the door.

Frisk moved forward and tried pulling door open again.

Suddenly, it snapped open with a crack and whir, sliding open so fast Frisk fell flat on her face.

"Told ya. You alright?" Sans limped over and prodded her side with his foot.

Frisk growled into the cold floor.

"M juth fhine fank you fhery mufh."

Frisk didn't want to move.

She hated doors now.

"Come on, get over it and get up before I start playing the casual bongos, also known as your ass."

Frisk looked up, crossed.

"Touch my butt and your refilling my milky bone box."

Sans japed wide and pointed at her.

"OHHHH, YOU JUST ADMITTED IT! YOU EAT DOG TREATS!"

Frisk frowned and swiped at his hand, which he cleverly pulled back just in time.

Frisk huffed and got up, watching as Sans backed up a little to avoid getting throttled.

She decided to drop it (he was getting an unpleasant surprise tonight when he went for his ketchup) and look around.

It was still rather dark, with fogs of cold air drifting through the empty lab. They were currently in a short hallway that extended into what looked like a small lobby. The floor tiles were a greenish gray and dirty, and frost covered the walls.

There was a tense feeling in the silent air, like something was wrong with this place. Like something bad happened here.

Frisk looked over at Sans, who had moved out of the elevator.

"…. S'been awhile since I've been here…"

"Huh?" Frisk looked at him questioningly.

"Remember when I said Alphys and I worked on something? Well… this is where it happened. And I guess I gotta tell you now, considering you are gonna find out soon anyways."

Sans started limping out ahead of her. Frisk followed close behind, eyes constantly scanning around her. She shuddered as a chill crawls down her spine.

"So, a long time ago, I was a scientist. As you know from my… background… well, I wasn't exactly the most morally driven back then. Doctor Alphys asked me to help her with something… and experiment."

They passed a large, black, fogged monitor hooked up to the wall. It gave her the spooks that she always got when looking at a powered off TV, and she inched a little closer to Sans.

She nearly screeched when it made a clicking sound, and the screen got a little lighter. Nothing happened after that.

"Huh. Must be broken. The cold probably wore it down." Sans said beside her, giving it no heed.

Frisk shot him a pleading glance.

It took him a moment.

"Are you scared of it? You have a tv-phobia issue, Snap pea." Sans smiled cruelty and kept walking.

Frisk let out a whine and stomped her foot before hurrying to keep up.

"We were given monsters who were in a comatose state… fallen down, we called it. It was a soul condition. Repeated ware and lack of positive energy sent them into a coma. There was no known cure, and we had collected quite a number of cases."

"There was no way to fix it?" Frisk sniffed.

Sans shook his head.

"Not that we knew of. The only option was to keep them until they died or put them down like an animal… which never happened."

"Back on the surface, sometimes families chose to pull off life support in cases like that. It must be hard…" Frisk shuddered, thinking of making such a harsh decision.

"Well, that's not how it usually does down here. That's why we collected so many cases. So they were sent to Alphys to see if she could cure them, along with human souls. Using Gaster's blue prints, we found a way to detract determination and then make it into a liquid form."

Frisk's tail twitched.

"You mean like the stuff coming out of Chara?"

"No. That was corrupted Determination. This stuff was pure, a bright red. And extremely potent. I wouldn't be surprised if Rotten Cherry is being influenced by it."

They came into the lobby room, with two passageways leading to different places to each side, a vending machine, and a large heavy door with multiple glowing lights and keyholes.

Sans groaned.

"Of course it's locked."

"What's in there?"

"The power box."

"…we need that, don't we."

"Yup. Time to go digging for some keys. Fuuuuuuuuuck."

Sans started walking down the left hallway.

"Why are there so many keyholes?" Frisk asked, following hurriedly.

"I have no freaking clue. Plot convenience?"

"What?"

"Nothing." Sans mumbled. They took a turn. "Anyways, we tried I jetting these monsters with Determination… to see if, maybe we could make our own way of getting out of the barrier. The king didn't know we did this…"

"Don't monsters die if they get too much Determination?" Frisk wondered if the bad feeling in her gut was from… mass death.

"Alone they die, yes. Their souls corrode and their bodies melt. Well, they woke up. We though it would be… okay. We didn't get what we wanted, but we prepared to send the monsters to their families… until they started to…" Sans's voice had been getting quieter, and now he trailed off, as if deep in thought.

Frisk swallowed.

 _They died…_

They entered a room with a single operating table and multiple sinks. The sinks were coated in ice.

Sans walked up to one and peered into the drain.

Frisk looked around the room, eyeing the medical tools left on the old counter. They were rusted and fogged with cold.

Speaking of which, her cheeks were burning. It was a different kind of cold, a still old frostiness that wasn't as biting as windchill but crept down to her bones… heh.

"Dammit Al." Sans started banging on the sink, making Frisk leap in terror.

"What? What's wrong?!"

Sans stopped and pulled out something yellow.

"The key was under the ice."

"It was in the drain?"

"Yup. Wanna know why?"

Frisk felt like something was off.

"…what?"

Sans pointed behind her.

"That."

Frisk turned.

Behind her was a horrible, hideous beast with fog streaming from its mouth.

Frisk screeched so loud it felt like the walls shrieked back and scrambled behind Sans without a second thought.

Sans burst out in laughter.

"WHAT IS THAT!"

"It likes yellow, I'll tell you that much!" Sans giggled.

Frisk peered over his shoulder.

Some of the creature resembled Snowdrake, with a beak and white feathered head. But the resemblance ended there- the rest of it was an ugly melting pot of different colors and textures, bones and flesh sticking out of the pile. Surprisingly, it still had feet to stand on.

The sight of it made her sick.

She clutched Sans's shoulder.

"Holy shit…"

Sans's amusement faded.

"They didn't die. They melted together into amalgamations. Like the first time a Chara was summoned. Hey, Snowy." Sans waved.

The creature-Snowy- began making garbled cooing sounds until a few tired sounding words formed.

"Where…been?"

Frisk felt her heart break.

She poked her head a little farther over Sans's shoulder.

 _Poor thing…_

Sans looked down guiltily.

"I… haven't been around. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't want to come back."

 _It knows him… was it waiting? Did he abandon them?_

It tilted its deformed head.

"No… want… us?"

Sans let out a shaking sigh.

Frisk realized in a flash the skeleton was holding back tears.

"No, I don't want myself. That's what. It wasn't you guys, alright? It was me."

"…You…different…"

Sans looked back up, sniffing a little.

"Yep. That's what time does."

The creature inched forward, sending a fresh wave of uncertainty through Frisk.

"Who…that…friend?"

Sans glanced at her and shot her an unamused look before exposing her by stepping to the side.

"Yupio. Names Frisk. She doesn't bite… heh."

Frisk stared ahead with wide eyes.

"…hi."

"Gr… eetings…. Human?"

Frisk took a deep breath, wincing slightly at the cold air.

"Yes. Good human. She's cool." Sans came to her defense.

"Good?"

"Yes. And if I'm saying it you know it's true."

Snowy looked at her thoughtfully- well, at least she thought it was.

"…Fr…isk… friend?"

"Y-yes." Frisk nodded.

 _Friend, not food._ Frisk added in her mind.

The creature did a slow, tiny hop.

"Y…ay… friend…"

Frisk felt tears sting her eyes.

 _This poor thing… it can't even move right anymore… and Sans and Alphys did this?_

Sans's gaze was angled downward.

His brow bone was pinched together in worry.

"It's really my fault… all this. There were warnings. And I ignored them. Out of numbness. I was numb. I didn't feel for anything. I didn't even like Papyrus. I actually fucking thought about abandon him… I was such a bad person… I… I kind of regret telling you this…" Sans was fidgeting.

"Why?" Frisk forgot about Snowy for a moment.

"Because…" He audibly swallowed. "You…"

"I'm not going to judge you if that's what your thinking. I didn't even think about it. It was in the past and you've changed, right? That's what matters. Remember the talk about getting smarter, bub? You're losing intelligence." Frisk gave him a tiny nudge, hoping to get a spark out of him.

Sans huffed and grinned.

"Shuddup fluff ball. Cm'on, we gotta find the other keys and find Al."

Snowy perked up.

"…come…back… soon?"

Sans flinched.

"…sure. If you really want me too… I would have thought you guys would want nothing to do with me."

"We… miss…you." The creatures deformed eyes were sparkling, and Frisk realized with s pang the monster would be crying if it could.

Sans sniffled, and his words sounded choked.

"Y-yeah… s-see ya…"

Sans hurried out of the room, a little hunched.

Frisk surveyed him thoughtfully while following before deciding someone needed a hug.

She caught up to him (not a hard thing to do with his knee being the way it was) and wrapped her arms around his torso, loving the little puff of air that escaped from his clothes when she pressed down.

Sans froze, but she felt his bones relax.

"…you sure know when someone needs a hug, huh?"

"It wasn't that hard. I'll never judge you for your past, dummy. It's irrelevant."

"Yes it is. I made these things. And Al thinks it's her fault."

"Then you're both stupid." Frisk rested her head on his shoulder. He tensed up and let out s tiny cough.

 _Why'd he get so tight all the sudden?_

"Ya'know, we're both scientists. I can ramble about quantum physics so much I can make you have an existential crisis."

"There's two types of intelligence. That's book smarts. Besides, I bet if I read up on it I could match you."

Sans puffed.

"Yeah, right honeybuns. I don't think a couple of books will match you with 10 years plus exposure."

"Honeybuns?"

Sans did a little jump.

"Is that a little too non-platonic?"

"No, it sounds weird coming from your mouth." Frisk giggled a little. "I didn't know nice things could come out of your foul mouth."

"What, did I curse you out and put you down the entire time I've known you? Get outta here." Sans pulled away and flicked her forehead.

"Heyyyyy, you stole that from Naruto… and you didn't even do it right! It's two fingers…"

"…heh… not enough fingers for ya?" Sans made an amused face.

Frisk stared at him blankly.

"Yeah, because it's not right. It's two."

"I'm making a perverted joke."

"Oh."

"Never mind. I'm sure a finger joke has been made before."

They found their way back to the door.

Sans stuck the key in, and the light flickered on.

"We need four?" Frisk asked.

"Yup."

"Oiiiiiiii." Frisk groaned.

"Hey, I can get you some century old candy if it makes you happy."

Sans pointed at the vending machine.

"Depends on what it is."

Frisk walked over and tried looking inside. The glass was far too fogged, and even after whiling it with her sleeve she couldn't see a thing.

"I don't think it will work…" Frisk tried pressing one of the buttons. It was stuck in place.

"Who said it needed too?"

"What, are y-"

Sans pulled back and slammed his fist into the glass, and it shattered with a loud smash.

Frisk stared as he pulled his hand back and gave it a small shake.

"There ya go. Have away."

Frisk looked down at the glass on the floor.

"…you broke it."

"…no, I fixed it. Dumbass."

"That was unnecessary. Plus Alphys will be mad."

"Naw. Now get your candy before someone else does."

Frisk blinked slowly before deciding candy was worth it and stepping over the glass, hearing it crack under her feet. She bend into the machine, shivering at the cold being let off from the steel.

There were tons of candy bars, chips, and even some energy drinks.

"Hey, get me some chisps."

"…chips?"

"Chisps. Look at the package."

Frisk grabbed one of the packages and turned it around in her hand.

Indeed it read Chisps.

"Was this made by the same person who misspelled the libarby sign…" Frisk muttered before passing a couple bags off to him.

"Hail yes, gimme." Sans snatched them from her hand.

Frisk grabbed a drink and shook it to find it frozen.

Oh well.

She dropped it on the ground and gathered as many candy bars as she could, stuffing her pockets.

Eventually she started stuffing her bra.

Sans's eyes widened.

"…dude… what the fuck."

"I do it all the time. It warms up chocolate good. Women put a lot of things in their bras." Frisk shrugged. The cold bars didn't feel too nice but soon they'd be nice and toasty.

Sans's face was tinged with blue.

"… nice to know."

"What? I thought you liked boobs anyways." Frisk reached in and grabbed the last candy bar and tore the wrapper open.

"…I wasn't complaining, I just said nice to know. I wish I had boobs so I could steal food easier."

Frisk snorted.

"If you had boobs you'd spend all day squeezing yourself."

Sans tilted his head back and threw a chip into his mouth.

"Mmhmmm… these are stale."

Frisk looked at her bag, reading the expiration date.

Which was two years ago.

"…should we be eating this?"

Sans turned.

"It's been practically kept in a freezer, its fine."

Sans continued eating his stale chips.

Frisk gnawed on her frozen chocolate bar.

At least it still tasted good.

Sans lead her to a large, square room with multiple beds. Some were in neat rows, but others had been sent ajar and never put back in place. Same went for the sheets- some well made, and some thrown all over the place.

There was a loud bark that sent her hair on end.

"Woo, here comes the doggie." Sans casually threw another chip in his mouth.

Just as started crunching on the chip, a huge white dog came lumbering into the room. The top half was mostly intact save for the gaping hole in its face, but it's lower half was covered in a black goop.

It's huge paws made the ground shake as it ran towards them, slobbering through the hole in its face.

Frisk took a step back as it stopped in front of Sans and pressed its head against him, tail wagging.

"Awww, cut it out. Yes, I missed ya too, cmon. I'm not big enough for this." Sans was helplessly knocked over by the huge dog.

Frisk giggled.

It reminded her of Greater Dog.

It leaned over Sans, sending droplets of steamy saliva onto his body.

"Eeeeewwwwww, STAP! Please, ew, heh. I don't have time to play, but I'll come back when I can bud. Okay?"

The dog's ears and tail drooped, but it gave Sans another affectionate headbut.

"Yes, I promise. Oh, and this is Frisk." Sans pointed at her.

"…" Frisk felt the dog's non existent eyes bearing a hole into her.

Then, out of no where, it leaped over to her excitedly.

It leaned its head down to her face.

Frisk hesitantly reached her hand out and scratched behind its ear. It's fur was stiff and it's boyd felt cold- like it was dead. But it's panting and thumping hind leg as she scratched were sure signs it was alive.

"Awww." Frisk cooed. It wasn't the prettiest, but it was still a doggie…

"Alright bud, you seen the green key?"

The dog turned to Sans and thumped the ground with its front paws.

"Where?"

The dog padded over to one of the beds and literally flipped it over.

The key fell to the ground with a clank.

"Thanks. Though you could have left the bed in tack." Sans laughed a little while grabbing the little green key, turning it around in his fingers.

There was a click at the other side of the room.

Frisk looked up.

There were two more Amalgamates, one with a weird muscly body and a large mouth with pointed teeth, and a bird like one with bug like wings.

The one with the pointed teeth made a shriek like sound, but it sounded like the sound was being made by many different voices at once. It created a horrible disharmony that hurt her ears.

"Oh, hey Lemonbread. Reaper."

 _Lemonbread? Reaper? Weird names…_

They didn't move an inch, and Frisk felt a frosty air coming from them to her…

They didn't like her presence.

"That's Frisk. She's harmless. It's cool… heh, no pun intended."

Reaper lingered a moment longer before approaching Sans, Lemonbread following suit.

Frisk hung back from these two, watching the heartwarming reunion.

…

The next two keys were in a freezer and a shower, respectively.

Thankfully, Lemonbread helped them pry open the freezer door, which had frozen shut a long time ago.

The Amalgamates bodies always made a shifting, scratching sound that bothered Frisk. They also shifted emotions quickly, sometimes unexpectedly.

Sans knew their behavior perfectly. But she didn't know what to expect, and they surprised her at every turn.

They didn't follow them to the lobby.

Sans said they probably didn't like going into the power room because something called "Memoryheads" liked to hang around there, and they tended to get moody.

Sans placed the three keys into their respective holes, and the door made a clicking sound as all the lights flashed on.

Sans pressed a small grey button and the door slowly opened, sending a white fog out from its cracks.

"Alright, all we gotta do is turn on the power box and then we are golden." Sans started limping in.

"What about Alphys?"

"We can find her after the power is on. It's kinda hard with it being dark and stuff."

Frisk swallowed.

The only reason the dimness would impede them were if she weren't moving for some reason. And Frisk didn't want to know the implications of that.

They entered slowly. It was darker than the other rooms, with an intricate tangle of tubes leading to a slow blinking red light on top of a panel of buttons.

As they approached it, Sans stopped, extending his arm out to stop her.

Frisk froze, feeling a cold knot in her stomach.

"What?"

"…shit. Memoryheads."

"H-"

Frisk was cut off by a collective garbling and static sound as something fell from the dark enshrouded ceiling.

They were little white, round things with what looked like static code all over their bodies. They shifted and swayed in unison, like every movement was sent as a signal through each of their brains.

They surrounded Sans and Frisk in a circle, about twelve of them.

Sans was tense.

"Are these ones… aggressive? Why are they doing this?" Frisk took a step towards him, her head spinning to see them all. She felt a little panicked. The sound and movements they made were nauseating.

"Depends… hey guys. Remember me?"

In response to Sans's question, they let out a horrible shriek that made them both cringe, Sans crying out a little.

"Ow, shit… they're pissed."

"Why?" Frisk swallowed.

They inched a little closer, and Frisk realized that Sans was right.

"I dunno… it could be anything from being hungry to hating me for leaving. These guys get off on any little thing… they probably only listen to Al."

At the mention of her name they shuddered, but then continued their advance.

Frisk pressed up against Sans, her heart racing.

"What are they going to do?"

"I think they are going to attack… shit, I can't use my magic!" Sans looked extremely nervous now, in a way she had only seen from him recently.

It was his insecurity at being injured.

 _Sans… he can't fight them off. Not with his knee. I…_

Frisk let out a tiny growl.

"Stay back…"

 _I need to stop being a coward, if I can face Chara I can certainly keep Sans safe from these!_

They inched closer still.

"Frisk… just don't move… if they attack they'll most likely go after me, it seems I'm the one they are mad at."

"No. How many times have I told you no? You idiot." Frisk hissed.

"W-"

"No. Shut it." Frisk raised her finger. "If they attack, I'm defending You. Because you're hurt and that's what friends do. That's what wolves do."

"…and you call me stupid. Frisk, I'm not helpless. Besides, we need to hold still, if we don't move they wi-"

Suddenly, they began rushing forward.

Frisk yelled and tossed one of her candy bars at the closest one.

They froze.

Suddenly, she felt something tug on her leg.

Frisk let out a sound as she was jerked backwards quite a ways, and her head hit the floor hard.

She thought she blacked out, and maybe she did for a few seconds.

The next thing she knew something horribly cold was on her body and there was a static sound that hurt her head and made her want to barf.

Frisk realized they were on her and started struggling, eyes going wide.

Sans was saying something, but she couldn't hear over the static.

Frisk tried to open her mouth, but one of them moved onto her neck and lower face, and with a rush of panic she felt it press down.

She felt like her heart was going to burst.

Frisk started flailing harder, unable to breathe.

Any other thoughts turned to _need air_ as she was filled with a horrible, desperate need to breathe.

"HEY! Stop it! Get off!"

The Memoryheads froze.

There was a flash of yellow.

"Hey! Stop it! Bad! Very bad!"

Frisk recognized Alphys.

The pressure on her body went away and they shuffled off.

Frisk took in a gulp of air, feeling pain in her chest.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Alphys's face was over hers now. She was blurry.

It took Frisk a moment to process.

"…I think so." Her voice was raspy.

"Holy shit, you fucking moron. You're bleeding from the head. Al, does it look bad?"

Frisk blinked slowly.

 _Bleeding?_

"…it doesn't l-look too serious. T-the worst it could lead to is a concussion."

"Are you sure? She doesn't look fine!"

Frisk blinked again, trying to clear the little black fuzzies.

She felt oddly detached.

"She's p-probably dazed. Or maybe in s-shock. T-try to k-keep her warm, after the p-power is on we can bring her u-up and check her out w-with my machines. O-oh, are you okay S-Sans?"

 _Did…Sans get attacked…too?_

"Yeah, maybe a bruise or two. Alrighty, get over here."

Sans's eyes shifted to her and she felt his hand behind her back, pushing her up.

Then she was wrapped in something really warm.

It smelled like wind and ketchup.

She realized Sans was suddenly missing his jacket.

 _Where did it go?_

Frisk blinked at him.

"Jeez, you really are out of it. Hey, turn the power on." Sans looked over to Alphys.

Alphys said something Frisk didn't catch and she hurried away to the button panel.

Frisk curled deeper into the warmth.

It felt nice…

Sans gave her a shake that sent a throb into her head.

"No sleeping. I would be yelling at you right now if you would process a single word, you know."

Frisk whined softly.

She was tired. Why couldn't she sleep?

There was a click and then the world went white.

The light hurt her eyes and she squeezed them shut, squirming and whining.

"I know, it's just the lights." Sans's voice was a little softer than his previous angry one, and instead of annoying her it soothed her.

"O-okay, its on. We can take the elevator over here."

"Fine. Gimme a sec."

The ground disappeared underneath her.

Frisk felt a little panic until she realized she was being carried.

"You're still too light." Sans muttered.

 _Light?_

"S-Sans, should you be doing that? You're still h-hurt."

"What else are we gonna do? Leave her here with the pissed off Mems?"

"N-no… but they are getting a big punishment!"

"I hope so, those little shits. So, mind explaining?"

"O-oh… I… I'm sorry Sans… I just… I thought it was t-time, and-"

The voices drowned away as Frisk slumped into a short unconsciousness.

What felt like a few seconds later, she was on a bed with a familiar fuzzy blanket and a throbbing headache.

Frisk groaned, feeling thoughts flood in.

Holy shit.

She almost died.

Oh no.

She would have shot up if she didn't feel like her head was a brick.

"Rise and shine."

"Sans?" Frisk rubbed her eyes. Thankfully, the room was dark.

She sat up slowly.

Sans's bed.

Sans's room.

Storm in between her legs.

A crossed looking Sans.

She grabbed her heavy head and glanced at him from the side.

"What? You want me to get out?"

"No… I never got to yelling at you."

"Please don't. My head hurts."

"Okay, I'll just _scold_ you then. You fucking dumbass. I told you what I told you for a reason. I said I can defend myself. You wanna know why? Because I actually knew what the fuck I was doing. If I just held still they wouldn't have done much harm. A little painful, especially if they got my knee, but they react to movement. And _you._ Sit there and throw your fucking candy bar at them like a shit eating three year old. See where that got you? It almost got you killed, fuckface. Think before you act or I'll shove my foot so far up your ass you'll be tasting common sense for years to come." Sans took a shaking breath.

Frisk blinked.

Wow.

She felt a prickling annoyance.

"Jeez, what a welcome. You have the nerve to curse me out after I made a simple mistake and could have died?"

Storm looked up and glared at Sans.

At least someone backed her.

"Yeah, I do. Because it was a stupid, idiot mistake. One that should not have been made."

"Screw you. You're a dick."

"I'm a dick that wants you _alive_. With no more resets." Sans leaned back. "Sorry for being pissed off. Oh, no reading. And you've got meds." Sans pulled out a pill bottle and shook it.

Frisk pinched the bridge of her nose.

Just fantastic.

* * *

 **I had to force myself through this chapter. Thus, it's rather rushed. Sorry.**

 **I've just been pooped on motivation for the last week. I've been drawing other stuff, but in terms of projects I've got nothing done. Maybe it's the commotion from the shooting.**

 **Some forth wall breaks for you as well.**

 **Sans is fully revealed.**

 **Also, big announcement.**

 **I have a story planned that is Sans centric, taking place in his past. It would be short, but I'm probably going to start it after HT is done. Unless I get a motivation rush before then. But I estimate about 5 chapters. Maybe only three long ones. Who knows. It's till in early stages. I was also thinking of a comic on it but with Springheart on and behind schedule I just can't. Two full blown comic series sounds like hell, considering one is a nightmare.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all are doing well and stay safe. Remember to report anyone acting strange or making threats to the proper authority. People's feelings aren't worth lives. It's a very tense time right now. Do not share posts about or including someone making threats to a shooting. Because most of them want you to do that. Just report and leave it alone. Hopefully this goes down soon.**

 **Though with this president nothing is certain.**

 **From the wolf in the mountains,**

 **Comycat~**

 **Oh, and if you want to see any cool art of my OC Moon or more HT stuff check out my DA! I've been drawing a lot recently!**

 **Whoops, almost forgot reviews!**

 **Alia Sooan: lol. Don't worry. I'm probably fatter. XD**

 **Synthetic Desire.21: Omg, that made me laugh so hard XD better get life support, because your heart isn't done being battered yet!**

 **Lauralie20: heh, true. Karma sucks. Also, Amalgamate Chara is sort of the placeholder for Omega Flowey, so there is no Omega Flowey. It's going right to the finale… :3**

 **Iluvfanfic: Lol. I love that video. And my search history is worse, trust me :b**

 **Thedyingjokepastaway: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

 **Reiko X: yay, a new reader :D welcome!**

 **Lol, I'm sorry you don't get the jokes. I hope the jokier chapters weren't too boring… as for Snark, Sans is your Snarky buddy, with all your Snarky needs XD**

 **I understand. It's a thing some people have. I don't know if we have enough time left for some last minute additions in terms of that without butchering the plot, though. But we do have the final fight coming up… and I've got a surprise!**

 **Hope y'all aren't too attached to your skeleton.**

 **):3**


	44. Chapter 43- Final Hour

" _Love. The reason I dislike they word is that it means too much for me, far more than you can understand."- Anna Kareninia_

* * *

For the next week Frisk had to deal with a persistent headache. For an injury that supposedly "wasn't that bad", it certainly felt the contrary. Papyrus was considerate of this though, and Sans wasn't enough of a jerk to further irritate it. The only issue she encountered was Storm, who still meowed loudly when he wanted something. She wasn't mad at him though- she was more cross with Sans for suggesting he got thrown outside.

Frisk also wanted horribly to read. Of course, she had to have this urge during her concussion. Reading included scrolling through Undernet, so all she could really do was sit around on the couch with the same Sans-humored comedies playing ten million times in a row.

She and Alphys had a rushed conversation over the phone. She seemed relieved Sans had explained everything. Frisk didn't made her talk about a thing. She just told her what she had told to Sans and probably averted a sobbing lizard in the process.

The week dragged by, and she kind of wished for even Undyne to stop by. Sans had made a strict rule that Undyne was NOT to come near the house while ANYONE had a concussion.

That lead to Undyne trying to kidnap her through the window. And a very angry Sans chasing her across the lawn with a giant bone club.

Who knew she would ever see Undyne running from someone.

But she had a lurking suspicion that Undyne was just toying with him and seeing how far he'd go before breaking his knee again.

Whatever.

At least she got the thing off her hand. She still had to wear a thing over her middle and pointer fingers.

She was getting increasingly annoyed with Sans. Even best friends- or whatever the hell her subconscious mind saw him as- got a little too much to handle. He never left he E. Not only was he really fussy, he didn't get the cue that she wasn't up for his games. He didn't understand that she was human and therefore did not regularly eat twenty pounds of food. He didn't get that she did not want to be smothered under fifty blankets. He also didn't get that she did not want an adult toy on her cat. She had to pull it off the poor cat about four times and each time she beat him with it. Which got a few odd glances and questions from Papyrus, which she had the cruel satisfaction of watching Sans try to explain to his brother.

Eventually, Alphys gave her the clear. Frisk literally ran out of the house and straight to the library, probably giving Sans a panic attack because he didn't know. Papyrus followed her, stating that he would "protect her". She let him. Better than Sans, who seemed to get moody when he went to the library.

The librarian was happy to see her after such a long while. She was happy to finally smell the books again.

She decided to work out her nose by trying to identify books by their material smell. Papyrus re-read cook books, seemingly mesmerized and confused that they were very different from what Undyne taught him.

When they left, it was getting dark. Papyrus went on and on about how much he learned, and Frisk eventually tuned out. She still had trouble concentrating on sound for more than a couple minutes at a time.

While she was tuned out, she noticed the monsters around town seemed on edge. They gave her scared, nervous glances and then quickly averted their eyes. She felt a tense feeling in the air.

Frisk shifted a little closer to Papyrus, feeling slightly unsafe. They never had that look before. Snowdin was full of warm, welcoming monsters. Now they seemed almost...

"Hey, Frisk!"

Frisk jumped and spun in the snow. The voice came from behind.

She saw Rocky in the distance, with his spear and armor. He was running through the snow, trying to catch up. She marveled his ability to run through the snow in armor with such ease.

"Oh, Rocky! How are you!" Papyrus greeted happily.

Rocky slowed down, panting with his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

Frisk knew something was off immediately.

"F-Frisk…Pap…yrus… hi…" Rocky bend and rested his hands on his knees.

"Did you go on a jog? You should have told me! I would have joined you!" Papyrus said.

"N-no, that's not… Frisk, ya gotta get inside…"

"Why?" Frisk rubbed her wrist.

Rocky looked up, eyes wide. The snow was reflected in his blue eyes.

"They… they know. Someone alerted The king, and he's… issued an order for your a-arrest… The Royal guard will be coming through… Captain Dogamy told me to come warn you… you need to get somewhere they won't find you…"

Frisk felt her heart move up to her throat.

Uh oh.

She never thought about that.

Papyrus's brow furrowed.

"Why don't we just explain to them? I'm sure they would understand."

"I'm sure _you_ don't understand, Papyrus. They… we have orders. That we need to follow. Our orders are to arrest… we must be loyal. Even this… Dogamy is taking a huge risk. The King is strict on his word, as you know. And with us… being so close… Frisk isn't safe. And you guys aren't either."

Frisk tugged Papyrus's arm, feeling sick with anxiety.

How many people would tell the royal guard they saw her here?

"We need to go home, Papy. Now."

"No, Frisk, you can't." Rocky whined. "We have special orders to check the skeleton household. Papyrus, you need to go back and take out as much of her smell as possible."

"What? Why would we need to do that?" Papyrus looked a little worried.

He was starting to understand the situation, just as she herself was coming to terms of how dire it was.

Frisk remembered Sans's words, telling her it wasn't safe for a human.

She realized with a pang that this was bound to happen. It would've happened, one way or another.

"Because, if they even so much as catch a whiff, you two are being hauled off to the king. And, most likely, prison."

"Wait, what?" Frisk jolted.

"It would be considered as treason. Plus, if these monsters find out you are surely a human…"

Rocky trailed off, looking thoughtful.

Frisk blinked.

"Rocky. Do you think that they would back me? Even being a human?"

"Of course they would! Right?" Papyrus chirped hopefully.

"I… I don't know… monsters don't want to _hurt_ you, but… they want to be free. We aren't some magical fairytales. We feel greed and desire like you. We feel needs. Do you know what I'm putting aside for you? I… I never wanted to hurt anyone. Especially a friend. And I never would if I could do anything about it. But there is still a part of me that thinks, that thinks that this could all be over so quickly. Not everyone can resist those urges, Frisk."

Frisk took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

The image of Snow's wise green eyes was burned into the back of her eyelids.

...she knew what she had to do.

She listened quietly as Papyrus spoke with a tone of anguish.

"But Rocky, how could you feel like that about a friend!"

"I… I…" Rocky stammered nervously. "I can't help it… but the reason I'm resisting those urges is because you're you, Frisk. Because you _are_ my friend. I… I have a duty to my kingdom, but… if I could, I would support you, all the way. You understand?" Rocky asked hopefully.

Frisk nodded slowly.

"Yes. I remember when I was honest about my feelings, and I would expect the same from you." She let her eyes flutter open. "But I know what I'm going to do."

"What? You have a plan?" Rocky leaned in closer.

"Yes. I'm going straight to the steps of that throne, that's what I'm going to do." Frisk found her voice was oddly even despite the storm in her heart.

" _What!"_ Both Rocky and Papyrus said in unison

"You're just going to give in? The king will kill you!"

"Human, no! That won't help! I don't want you to go!" Papyrus wailed.

"I'm not giving in. If I stay here everyone will have to pick a side for me. I'm taking my own life into my own hands, and saving everyone the impossible choice. And who said I'm going to let him kill me? I've already talked past one king… I can talk past another."

There was stunned silence for a few moments.

Frisk felt an increasing power in the middle of her chest, a burning courage she didn't think she had.

"I'm tired of running away. I'm not a coward anymore. I'm not letting everyone else fight my battle for me. And if I don't make it at least I tried." Frisk knew her resets were largely unstable now. Chances were, this could very well be her last fight. "I've learned living isn't breathing and doing whatever necessary to survive each day. Living is making an impact. Living is feeling passion and love. Living is spirit. If I "die", but if I died for a good cause, even if it's just setting you free, I still live on, right? Because I made an impact. That's what living is." Frisk swallowed.

There was more silence.

Papyrus sniffed, and she looked to see him wiping his eyes.

"H-human… I don't want you to die… b-but if you think… if you b-believe that, I won't stop y-you."

Frisk turned and felt a huge smile form on her face

"Papyrus… you're the best friend a human can hope for, you know."

Papyrus perked up.

"Wow, really? You mean it?"

"Yes, of course." Frisk steeled her nerves and reached over, wrapping him in a hug. Well, as much of him she could get.

"AWWWW, HUGS!" Papyrus cheered and she was instantly crushed.

There goes a rib or two.

"Heh… I knew you were something. You've got something… I've got to look up to, Frisk."

She felt a warm, fluffy body join the hug. Rocky.

She felt a joyful laugh bubble up in her throat, as well as tears.

She was happy.

She found where she belonged. The people she belonged to.

Her "pack".

And now she'd do anything to keep it.

"…I'm sure you'll have _snow_ problem!" A voice spoke up from behind them.

Frisk peaked over the group hug to see Snowdrake. His eyes were wide and sparkling.

Papyrus let her go, and she felt her feet touch the snow again. She smiled at him.

Maybe she wasn't so salty about having ice chucked at her after all.

"…hun, your fate is in your hands. As it is in ours. It don' matter if you a human, ya still feel like we do. Differences make no reason t'kill ya." Frisk whirled to see the Snowdin shopkeeper.

Gradually, other monsters started inching forward, some she barely knew.

"That was awesome! Go for it!"

"Ya never hurt nobody… why should we hurt you?"

"I heard you saved people!"

"We support you, even if you're … a human!"

"I knew you had a different air about you. You helped us out at the library, the least I could do is support you." The librarian was out too.

Frisk hardly knew some of these monsters. There were so many admiring eyes… on her?

She didn't feel like she deserved it…

She felt tears well up stronger in her eyes.

"Wowie… see, Frisk! I told you! We've got your back!" Papyrus said-waving his arms towards the small crowd- with a tinge of hope in his voice.

"Papyrus… I still have to go. It's even more reason not to give you guys such a hard choice…" Frisk sniffed.

Papyrus's arms dropped.

"Oh… but you just recovered! Not even fully! You can't go alone…"

"Paps… I n-"

"I know! Take Sans! I doubt my brother would let you go alone anyways!"

"S-Sans?" Frisk hadn't thought about that.

He was right. Sans would flip.

But…he said when it was time, it was time.

She had to trust her trust her with this.

"Fine. I'll let Sans come."

 _Only partway._ Frisk added. Plus, he'd be able to teleport her there.

"Well… lets go!" Papyrus started running back towards the house, and the monsters moved to let him through.

"He's right. You don't have too much time. Frisk… if this is the last time I see you… thanks for being my friend." Rocky's voice had a pitiful sincereness that brought the tears back.

She turned, not wanting him to see.

"I should be thanking you. Thank you all…"

Frisk started running after Papyrus without another word.

It felt so… final.

This couldn't be it, right?

No.

She wasn't going to let it.

She let the tears dribble out of her eyes as she felt the Determination grow.

This wasn't the end of this book.

Not yet.

Sans was frantic.

He knew.

"Frisk, oh my god, thank god, I-"

Frisk stopped as he literally jumped out of the door, eye sockets wide and pupils large with fear. Even slightly purple. He was wearing his jacket, sneakers for once, and a lazily made necklace with a bone as a pendant. She had seen it in his room before- it let off a soft blue glow in the dark. He found it under his bed two days ago.

"Sans, we don't have time." Frisk panted.

"I know that! We need to get you somewhere! Grillby's has a cellar." She noticed he had Storm in his arms. The poor kitten looked confused and kept looking around between them.

"Sans… Frisk is going to the King." Papyrus said before she could speak. He had a matureness she never heard from the hyperactive skeleton before.

"The human wants to know if you will go with her." He added.

Frisk swallowed as Sans's lights went out.

He was still.

Stiff.

"… you're… _w h a t?"_

"You heard him loud and clear. And no, I'm not doing what you think. I'm not sacrificing myself." Frisk kept her eyes locked on his, even though it was hard.

"…no. I can't let you go. None of this nonsense, let's g-"

"Sans." Frisk extended her hand out to stop him, resting it on his arm.

"You promised when it was time you wouldn't stop me. I'm not asking you to judge me. I'm not asking you if you agree. I'm asking you to go with me. I have a feeling… that this is our chance. I told you we'd all be going out together… and if that time isn't now, it's never."

"But… what could… it's not going to magically happen, Snap pea. It's…"

"I know. But I'll never find a way if I'm hiding all the time, now will I? Sans…" Frisk tried making the saddest "puppy eyes" she could. "Please?"

Storm's head started darting back and forth between them, trying to figure out why Frisk looked so upset so suddenly.

Sans was quiet, and she could hear his heavy breaths. It was almost like Papyrus had disappeared, even though he was right beside her.

"…fine. If you don't feel like you're going to pass out because of a just recovered concussion, let's go. I hope you're not playing a stupid card…" Sans's eye lights returned, wide and worried. Nervous.

"The only cards I can play now are in the hands of fate." Frisk replied.

"Then let's hope you draw a good card."

…

( before continuing, look up Farewell Symphony on YouTube by BrunuhVille to listen to while reading the scene. It will really benefit the coming scene, trust me.)

Frisk remembered this path to the hall painfully.

Last time she walked it she was covered in dust…

It reminded her of a burden she'd never be able to release. Screams that would never fade and blood that would never dry.

Frisk squeezed her own arm to try to distract herself.

It was so dark…

The judgment hall was lit by blue torches, provided swaths of light that faded to black around the edges only to be lightly bumped by the next glowing circle.

Little specks of glowing blue danced around the air like fairies. It was ominous and dreadful, yet… mystical in a way. It took her breath.

Sans had been silent the entire way. He still had Storm in his arms. Why, she didn't know.

Maybe comfort?

Storm didn't have any opposition for this field trip and snuggled into the fur lining Sans's coat.

She noticed it was the one Toriel patched up for him. She was wearing her same sweater she had fallen down in, also patched by the kind woman.

In her pocket, her wolf dagger.

She didn't want to fight, but…

Sans stopped in the middle of the blue hall, halfway swallowed by shadow.

"…are you leaving?"

"…I told you. No."

"…Frisk. If you want to leave. Do it. Don't think about me. Think about you. Do it for you. If… if you truly… care about something… then… let it be happy. I want you to be happy."

"…I am happy. With you guys." Frisk took a step closer so she was right up by his back.

"I'm happy with you guys, you moron. That's why I'm fighting to stay here."

"The king is there for a reason. He's not going to back down easy. He's not a guy for words… I know. If he has a resolve…"

"I know. But I already talked one king outta killing me, right?" Frisk joked.

Sans snorted a little.

"Yeah, sure… Snap pea, this isn't like Asgore. This… I have a feeling you want me to stay here. I know you want to do this alone, but-"

"But it's my thing to do alone, Sans." Frisk let her hand touch his shoulder. "You have no place in it. I was asking for it the second I climbed this mountain."

There was a pause.

"…are you scared?"

Frisk blinked.

"… y-yeah. Sans, it's still me. The little old scaredy cat whelp. Nothing's really changed… you know that. So yes, I'm terrified."

Sans let out a few tried chuckles.

"Good, at least I'm not the only one."

There was more silence, this time longer.

"… you can't reset much more. Every time can be your last. There is a… a save, up ahead. I remember from the readings… use it… the King uses Moon magic. His throne is right in front of the moon crystal… the howling stone… at the top of the royal tower… dammit, Frisk."

"What?" Sans was shaking.

Storm meowed softly.

"I… I feel like this is goodbye… I don't want a goodbye… I don't want any goodbye. I… I have a feeling… even if you come back… something is ending. I don't want a goodbye!" She could hear the tears in his voice, she how hard he was shaking to hold back the tears.

If she thought she felt heartbreak before, she was wrong.

"Sans… I… It's not goodbye. And… even if it is… just… smile and be glad it happened. Better than moping around about what you lost."

"…goddamit Frisk, I _can't_. You taught me so damn much… you changed me more than anyone else ever will, I don't want anything to end. If it ends n-now, I'll never be able to make up for the shit I've done. I don't have enough time to tell you how much you mean to me and how much you've changed me, there's so many things I never got to say and I could sit here for moons upon moons and never be done. I don't want you to go…" the last sentence was cut off by a half compressed sob.

Frisk couldn't stop it now. The tears were burning hot on her cold cheeks.

"Sans… I… kind of feel the same way. But nothing's ending. I'm coming back… it's just a postponement. Nothing more."

"F-f-frisk…"

Sans didn't say anything else, probably because he couldn't.

Frisk felt like someone had thrown her heart against a wall and it shattered like the frailest glass into an uncountable amount of sharp, painful shards.

She realized how fond she became of him. How much she would miss him if this truly was goodbye.

But… she wasn't leaving.

And if she died for good… she wouldn't feel anything, right?

Well, who knew where she would go.

Either way… he got the short straw…

Frisk swallowed and opened her arms.

"Cm'ere you silly lump of calcium."

Sans didn't even hesitate.

She was nearly knocked over by how fast he moved into her hug.

She smiled and giggled a little through the tears at his reaction.

She thought she was a pup…

"Looks like I'm calling you Puppo from now on." Frisk teased as he pressed his skull into her shoulder, shaking violently.

"S-s-shadup…"

"Heh…" Poor Storm was sandwiched between them, and Sans seemed to want to eliminate any space left between them.

Frisk closed her eyes and took in the warmth.

She didn't know long they stood there, but her legs were beginning to get tired when Sans finally pulled away. He looked down.

"…"

Frisk hated herself now.

"…I'll be back…"

"…what about the cat?"

Frisk looked down at Storm, wanting to hold him, but…

She didn't want him to feel like something was awry.

"Babysit for a bit. Don't get the little baby upset, you hear?"

Sans exhaled air through his nose.

"…fine. You… know everything you need to know?"

"Yeah." Frisk took a step back.

"…I won't blame you if… whatever happens. I'll be here waiting, nontheless."

"Don't worry. That's my job." Frisk tried to joke.

Sans didn't respond.

"…oh, hey, wait." Sans pulled on the necklace around his neck and pulled it off.

"Here." He extended his hand out to her, the little bone resting in his palm.

"Huh? Why?" Frisk looked down at it.

"Because. It's got my magic in it. And… I just want you to have somethin… just in case."

Frisk frowned.

"Sans, I told you, I'm not leaving."

"Things can change fast, Snap pea." Sans deadpanned.

Frisk sighed and took the necklace, looking at the little bone pendant with a slight annoyance.

"You're still stubborn as hell, at least. But… thanks, anyways."

"…nothin'." Sans turned around.

Storm meowed.

"…see ya."

"Just go." Sans was shaking a little again.

Frisk stared at him for a few heavy moments.

"…bonehead."

Frisk turned around and started walking down the rest of the hall.

Her footsteps sounded ten times louder without Sans's.

As she left, she was sure he turned around to watch her exit the far door.

…

The pathway was so dark, only lit by the tiniest blue flames. And the Save Sans was talking about. She tapped it as she walked by.

This smaller hall lead to the entrance of the royal tower. The old structure was cloaked in shadow, and eagerly crack and indent had black covering. It loomed over her like an omen of disaster.

Frisk swallowed.

She was aware of how painfully alone she was now.

 _No._ Frisk shook her head. _I can't think like that. I'm determined. I'm determined_

 _I'm determined._

Frisk repeated the phrase until she was as calm as she would get and went through the gaping mouth of the tower, feeling like it was swallowing her whole.

Inside was made of blue stones, with the mysterious blue torches lighting the way. The staircase was old and cracked, but sturdy enough. Glassless windows followed the twisting stairs. Frisk began her accent, resting against the wall farthest from the windows.

It got considerable colder as she climbed, so much so she was sure her spit would freeze to the ground.

The walls were covered in carvings of wolves and moons and mythical stories centuries old. Of wolves devouring the sun and moon, of ragnorok, of stories lost in stone.

Frisk ran her fingers around the carvings, feeling an ancient energy from them.

It filled her with more Determination.

She would set things right.

She wondered why she felt so compelled to do this. It was more than talking to the king. She knew there was a way- a way to set everyone free.

How, she did not know.

The accent filled her with apprehension as well. Every stair, every creak, meant she was closer to the end. As she got higher the windows went away and she felt the tower sway slightly.

Her gut felt so light it could have been non-existent.

Finally, she reached a final, short hall with a set of stairs leading to the roof.

There was yet another save nestled close to the stairs.

Frisk walked up to the yellow star and cupped its light in her hands, feeling her body go warm.

 _I… I hope I'm right. I hope this is right…_

A white flash from the corner of her vision reassured her.

Frisk took a few deep breaths, wondering what the king looked like. She never learned his name. How oddly convenient.

Frisk took a final inhale and made her way up the stairs.

The sight she saw as she reached the top was breath taking.

Around the top of the tower was a dome. And this dome was alight with what looked like the northern lights, swirling mixes of blue and green and red and purple… in the middle of the huge clearing was a Crystal of huge size, its surface gleaming and glowing. Little ice blue specks of magic danced off it and into the air.

In front of it was a small, modest throne. In it, a cloaked figure.

At the end of the clearing, was what looked like a path through light.

She knew what that was.

 _The barrier._

Her heart sped up despite her urges to keep calm.

She felt the stirring again.

To breathe fresh air. To see the moon. The sky.

 _No. I promised._ Frisk told herself.

The figure looked up slightly, and she recognized that icy blue eye and weird looking cigarette immediately.

It was the cloaked stranger who helped them at the train crash.

"Y-you? Why are you here?" Frisk was confused. This couldn't be the king. He wouldn't-

"Why do you think? Why would I be in a throne…"

"A-are you…"

"Yes. I am the king. When I leave with my cloak on I am no king. I am just a common stranger. Royal business is nothing to me then. But here."

He pulled back his hood.

Underneath was a grizzled dog, white and black. A big scar across his nose. In his mouth, an oddly shaped dog treat.

"Here I am King Doggo."

* * *

" _There is no way to love without being hurt. True love is finding someone worth hurting for."_

* * *

 **I AM FUCKING CRYING.**

 **GOD DAMMIT.**

 **THAT REVEAL WAS AWESOME BUT THE FEELS DOUGH**

 **:0'**

 **I hope this wasn't too soon for you guys. Also, now you know the king (most of you knew the king if you went on DA and kept up because I can't keep secrets of my own. I can keep other people's but not mine for some reason)**

 **I sacrificed my drawing time for this crap. Just to cry.**

 **I hate life. Reviews before I cry some more.**

 **Jaydomination: thinking about how many ways he could punish her for being stupid. Or mad that she took his title of stupid. XD**

 **Alia Sooan: good luck enforcing that one. Speaking of which where did they all go are they still in her bra? I forgot about them XD imagine she throws them at Doggo lol.**

 **I'm not super fat but I'm not skinny either. I've just got a little bit of a gut cause it runs in the family, and I HATE IT WHY COULDN'T I GRT FAT ELSEWHERE.**

 **Howlingtale cures and causes depression at the same time.**

 **Iluvfanfic: this ain't Fox News, it's real folks (save for how many times I've retconned this fucking thing. I may rename it retcon tale lol)**

 **Reiko X: Cool. I delve into darkfic a little bit (not with this fandom but with Kid Icarus hell yeah) because I'm edgy Xb and I feel ya. I would have so many ideas that I can't get down it SUCKS.**

 **Nope. Trouble is her middle name.**

 **Or maybe her last since I still don't have one lol.**

 **Thedyingjokepastaway: K**

 **I couldn't not talk about it. I feel so bad for the people involved** **and the fact we need to fight because our leaders won't. And we've got people saying stupid millennials, crap like that. Welp, they can go shove their walking cane up their old asses and suck Sans's big long blue-**

 **Squeaky toy**

 **Lauralie20: Taking breaks is the best way to get motivated. I've said this before, around the Snowdin arc I was plowing through this thing and I wasn't having fun, I was getting by on slow chapters filled with jokes. If my tablet didn't break I probably would have lost all interest in this story. I wonder how many stories I could have saved by just taking a break…**

 **Guest: yay, someone noticed.**

 **He doesn't actually know cannonly, it was just a joke.**

 **Or is it?!**

 **SyntheticDesire.21: nooooothing :3**

 **Excuse me while I go get three hours of sleep and rush to finish homework in the morning**

 **From the sleep deprived wolfie,**

 **Comycat**

 **All hail Satan.**


	45. Chapter 44- Tis but a flesh wound

" _Destiny isn't a path any cat follows blindly. It is always a matter of choice, and sometimes the heart speaks loudest. Listen to your heart, because that's where your true destiny lies." Warrior cats._

* * *

"Why… why would you...?"

"Because when I am not in a position of judgement I shall not judge. But here I am a king with a duty to his people. Here, I shall take your soul."

Frisk watched as Doggo stood up, and it felt like her life was on slow motion. He breathed in and let out a puff of smoke from his cigarette/ dog treat, pulling it between his fingers and giving it a tap to shake ashes off.

She could see the most steady, calm purpose in his eyes. Powerful but graceful…

Like a wolf.

He really was Moon-Blood.

Her heart was beating so fast.

This felt like a dream.

"… but why? Why not find another way?" Her voice was surprisingly strong.

"What other way is there? I do not mean personal harm to you, I have no problem with you personally. Actually, you are a very mild and decent human. But I have people to lead and serve. They wish for freedom. They wish for justice. We all do. We cannot sacrifice our ideals coming to fruition because of one single human."

"But is it worth getting blood on your hands?"

"We already have blood on our hands. Humans got our blood on their hands long ago." Doggo countered calmly.

"… I've got nothing." Frisk said after a pause, closing her eyes. "Other that the typical "it doesn't have to be this way.""

Doggo let out a "humph", pulling his cloak off. Underneath was a tan shirt that exposed his upper chest, two small grey shoulder pads, and torn brown shirts that only the middle of his thighs. Around his neck was a light blue scarf and a glowing blue crystal similar to the Howling stone, attached to a leather necklace.

Frisk had never seen such icy eyes. They were narrow, yet had that wolflike quality she often saw in her own eyes. She noticed his cheekbones reminded her of Silver, as did his stance and even clothing style.

"You wouldn't understand. Just as we don't understand freedom. I am not doing this to be spiteful, or cruel. Whether you chose to see it as a sacrifice is up to you."

"I don't hold it against you. But." An image of Sans's pleading eyes popped in her mind, and she had a moment of awe that someone could show so much emotion for her. She opened her eyes, unable to take thinking about how painful his expressions were without choking up.

"But I made a promise. I have people I need to get back to. So… I've come here to ask for that privilege."

Doggo shook his muzzle.

"Unfortunately that is not something that can be bought with words, my friend. That is something that must be fought for. And if it's really true, then you will be willing to fight for it. Because true friends are something worth dying for."

Frisk felt anxiety churn in her stomach.

How could she, a random human who just happens to have some wolf-like features, even come close to beating a battle hardened king?

 _No. I need to stop._ Frisk swallowed. _I need to stay determined. Otherwise… if I die, I may not come back._

 _Determined…_

Frisk tried focusing on the middle of her chest again, trying to bring up that burning feeling.

"If you have unfinished business, now is the time, human." Doggo's hand fell on his sword, which was safe in its sheath.

Not for long, anyways.

Frisk rubbed her wrist and shook her head.

 _Stay determined… stay determined… think of them. Think of them…_

She heard the clang of metal and the _shhhhhhring_ sound sound of a sword being unsheathed.

It was an old sword, with a worn handle. The blade glittered in the soft blue light of the Howling Stone.

Doggo held it in front of him with one hand, pointed at her.

"Very well. I ask of your name as an act of respect."

Frisk swallowed, feeling nervous sweat bead up in the back of her neck.

She pulled the wolf dagger from her pocket and held it tightly with a shaking palm.

"…Frisk."

Doggo raised his muzzle.

"Well then. Frisk. Your death will not be vain should you die. If you manage to beat me you may do as you wish. But." The air around them suddenly dulled, and ice blue flared to life on his open paw.

" **You won't live.** "

Thin lines of crisp blue magic extended from the Howling stone, casting a blue hued light through the dark area. The barriers light almost disappeared. A pale blue aura was spinning around the king, illuminating the red stone on his crown and the shiny gold.

Frisk almost fell backwards, feeling an immeasurably cold air hit her cheeks.

She immediately felt an overwhelming air of power.

She was going to _die._

Doggo moved his hand, and there was a cracking sound above her.

Frisk looked up to see multiple glowing blue icicles circling above her, sharp edges painted towards her.

Frisk moved by instinct, and as she did so they came zooming towards her at incredible speeds.

In a panic she cringed and covered her face with her hands.

The blow never came.

There was a sound like a bubble popping, and the icicles clanged to the ground.

Frisk peeked out.

There was a cobalt bubble of magic around her, though now fading.

The little bone on the necklace Sans gave her was glowing.

She stared down at in awe as she pieced together what it had done.

 _Sans. You smart little piece of shit, I love you. That's why you gave it to me, you sly dog_. Frisk smiled a little.

Her smile faded as she realized that all the magic in the bone faded, and it was single use.

She had no protection now.

Something flashed in the corner of her eye.

Frisk swiveled around and pulled up her blade, the sound of clashing metal and a pushback on her arms catching her off guard.

Doggo stood over her, pushing down with his sword.

"Good reflexes, human."

He pulled back, the blade glowing blue.

Frisk took a few stumbling steps backwards, her mind jumbled.

 _I need to focus, I need to focus, I need to-_

Doggo swept the ground with the sword, the same light blue colored wave seeping from it and hurtling towards her.

Frisk tried jumping it.

Unfortunately, she misjudged its height.

It hit her ankles and caused the most searing, jarring pain she ever felt.

She screamed so loud she was sure she ripped her throat and fell to the floor, writhing in agony.

She stared in gruesome horror at her feet… which were not connected to her in any way. Blood spurted from the two stumps that were now her ankles and made her feel extremely disoriented. It felt like she could still feel her feet- like when a hand or foot was numb- but any attempt to move it found a different story.

 _Oh my god, oh m-_

Something was pushed into her head and black crashed down on her mind.

It took her a few moments to realize the pain was gone, she could move her feet again and that she was _dead._

Shit.

Frisk watched as the Ultra save flickered in front of her.

She closed her eyes, finding it so odd that this dark was the same as the dark behind her eyelids.

 _Determination… I am determined. I will go back… I will…_

She focused on feelings of Determination, pushing away the echo's of fear that ate away at her insides.

Then, in a blinding flash, she was gasping on the cold floor of the tower.

Frisk scrambled to sit upright, looking down at her ankles.

At first her eyes landed on the old scar on her one ankle from the trap in Waterfall, and that made her heart skip a beat. But then her eyes took it all in and she wiggled her toes with no problems.

 _Dear god…_ she rubbed her brow, feeling the slight leftovers of a headache.

 _He's not playing around._ Frisk realized. He knew how to kill and do it fast.

That was good for the… pain aspect- she wouldn't suffer. But… not for her chances.

That light blue… I've seen it before. I think… Papyrus used it?

Frisk thought back to hazy memories from their fight on the bridge. The light blue bones…

 _That's it! I can't move! The magic will go right through me! So I didn't have to jump or move! Moving only makes it hit!_ Frisk felt stupid for not noticing that sooner.

Feeling a new rush of resolve, Frisk used the wall to pull herself to her feet. She felt wobbly, like after her feet have been asleep. She waited till she could walk normally and climbed back up the steps, her tail swishing behind her.

She arrived to find Doggo standing and ready.

 _Wh-what?_

He wasn't like that before?

"I used to be friends with Sans. I know what time is and what happens when it is tampered with, little human. Do you see with watch?" Doggo pulled a golden pocket watch with a carving of a brilliant Phoenix.

"This watch resists resets. In fact, opening it reveals the last five minutes of the previous timeline. This effect only lasts five minutes before fading. It is very faded now, see?" He clicked it open and showed the surface of the clock inside. There, she could see a faint picture reflected on the glass. She could not make it out from where she stood.

She was speechless.

He _knew_?!

He put the watch away.

"However, the past is the past. Now is now. We shall fight just as we did before. We shall fight evermore until time has complete her loop and fate has picked her cards."

Doggo pulled his sword.

Frisk gripped her dagger, feeling slightly more confident.

 _The blue attacks… they make me move. Don't. I'll be fine._

Doggo dashed straight in with his sword this time.

His eyes had darted to the space next to her.

Frisk took all her willpower and held still.

Doggo swung, the sword glowing blue at the last second.

It went right through her.

Frisk took the opportunity to slash at his arm.

Doggo jumped back on light, agile feet, landing on his toes and swinging his sword again. The blade was plain.

Frisk jumped away, copying the way he bounced on his toes.

He flashed his paw, and the ground rumbled.

There was a set of glowing black spots on the ground beneath her feet.

 _He's summoning something…_

Frisk leaped out of the way just in time to avoid a set of deep black spikes shooting from the stone.

However, Doggo had expected her move and darted in front of her, thrusting his blade.

She shield activated just in time as the sword tip brushed her torso, sending his blade flying from the impact.

Frisk tried kicking at his knee.

Doggo snickered and spun fluidly to the side, snapping his fingers.

She was still moving as little rings of light blue came flying at her.

She couldn't stop.

The last thing she saw was one right at her throat, feeling the cold magic, before her world went black.

She found herself in the void again.

Frisk sighed and focused on her Determination…

She'd get it.

…

Five tries later, Frisk was getting tired.

She breathed hard by the star, feeling dizzy.

She died mostly from blood loss last time. Before that she was stabbed, speared by a spike, and had something put through her head twice.

She found Doggo's overall strategy was to force her to move. Whether by intimidating blue attacks or a normal attack to shepherd her to where he was going to actually strike.

Staying still was nearly impossible, physically and mentally.

All the pain and injuries and fear was wearing down on her and making her sick.

It was also wearing on her safety.

Her little swim in the void was startlingly long this time.

The idea of actual death was startlingly near.

 _Sans was right to be scared…_ Frisk realized. _I could die…_

She felt a shudder pass through her body, and she pulled her knees to her chest.

Why did she have to lose resolve now?!

This didn't feel like a good idea anymore…

Her soul wolf was in front of her, transparent. She looked frightened.

"…" Frisk didn't say a word. She stared into the eyes of the wolf, feeling lost.

She couldn't go fight Doggo feeling like this.

She needed a break or she would most definitely be lost to the void.

Frisk sighed and played with the bone necklace. The little piece of ivory colored bone was light and warm. Like there was life flowing through its tiny shape. It's energy filled her with a comforting warmth she felt when cuddling up against Sans…

 _You know, bud? I have to stay alive for you…_ she snorted.

 _I wouldn't feel so guilty for dying if I hadn't promised you we'd all be on the surface one day, in one big house. Us, Paps, Undyne, Alphys, Rocky, Silver…With a bunch of cats… heh, he didn't like that idea._ Frisk smiled.

 _Doggo's right. That's worth fighting for. And I will. But first-_

Frisk stood up, shaking her limbs.

 _I'm going to take a little walk around. I still do need a break. And if I sit here I'll freeze._

Frisk walked around the tower, looking at the walls in greater detail. Looking out from the windows. Snow followed her, looking along curiously.

Frisk turned back after awhile, going back up the tower and to the stairs.

With a final breath, she ascended to that cursed place once more.

Doggo did not exchange words.

Spikes formed under her.

Frisk dodged to the side, pulling her dagger, ready to face Doggo.

This time he sent icicles at her, and she managed to stop in time.

The blue discs again.

They were created so that there was a little space between them. Interlaced were orange discs, the likes of which she had to move in order to avoid.

She weaved in between the discs, staying as focused as possible.

Next the floor glowed, and it turned to ice.

This was the attack he used on her last time. She felt a cold feeling in her soul.

It was turned ice blue by this attack.

Every move meant she slid, and avoiding attacks was much harder.

Doggo created normal spears of ice on the ceiling and they began to crash down, each getting dangerously close to the dodging Frisk. Her feet kept slipping and sliding.

Suddenly, her legs slid from under her and she was sliding on her stomach across the ice.

The shield activated as an icicle was about to pierce her, and the ice shattered. Little fragments pattered against the floor, reflecting the light.

Frisk tried getting back on her feet, unable to find a good foothold.

Doggo was over in an instant.

She was going to die again.

Frisk felt a prick of frustration and closed her eyes as he pulled back his blade.

Something moved up in front of her, sending a small gust of wind.

She opened her eyes to find gleaming white pillars of bone in front of her and Doggo had moved back.

 _B-bone?... oh no._

"You didn't." Frisk turned, knowing exactly who she would see.

Sans did not look happy. His cheekbones still looked a little wet, and his hands were balled up at his sides.

He was glaring at Doggo for all he was worth.

She felt a pinprick of annoyance, but more so fear.

Would he be labeled a traitor now?

Doggo sighed and sat up straight.

"Sans. I will say this once and once only. From now on, defending this human will be considered treasonous. You will leave now or be punished."

Sans growled.

Frisk could see Storm at his feet.

" _No."_

"Sans, please! I don't want you to get hurt because o-"

"We aren't going to get hurt."

"…we?"

Sans stepped aside.

"HUMAN?!" Papyrus came dashing into the room and was looming over her in an instant.

She looked behind him.

She could see Undyne, Rocky, Alphys… Silver, Toriel, even…

A large, fluffy shape entered the room.

Asgore?

Frisk felt her hand cover her mouth.

"What are you guys doing… no…"

"Yes! We've come to tell the king we don't want you dead! We were sure he'd let you live if we told him that!"

"But I told you-"

"It is alright my child. We are willing to take the blame." Toriel spoke softly.

Asgore walked up to Doggo calmly. He towered over the dog. It was hard to believe that Doggo was actually more powerful than the former king.

Doggo maintained eye contact with him, and she could see tense air between them.

"King. You have always ruled for the people, correct? We have come to tell you that the people desire the life of this human over immediate freedom."

"You are no longer in rule." Doggo said bluntly. His voice was still monotone.

Asgore nodded.

"Yes, I know that. I am nothing more than a citizen now. But we all have our beliefs, nonetheless. I found that killing them is far more to hold than sparing- no matter how much blood is on your hands, adding more does not help. This human has gained support across the underground, and most people back her and wish for her life to be spared."

Doggo blinked, and he was deep in thought.

"…Deputy Rocky. Is this fact true?"

Rocky flinched and straightened.

"Ummm, yes, your majesty! It seems true enough… we had a crowd back at Snowdin."

"…do you realize what you are throwing away?" Doggo stated. "This is for the wellbeing of all. This is why you failed as king, Asgore. You let your feelings get in the way of what was right."

"Like you should talk, bud." Sans growled.

Suddenly he was stomping across the open space, and Asgore stepped aside to let him through.

He stood right up to Doggo, unfazed by his size difference.

"Remember years back? You'd be sitting there at the alley, I'd be choking on your god awful smoke. And you told me, told me that I was too brutal. I said that humans weren't good and that killing them helped the cause. You said that everything had some good in em. You'd always scold me… looks like we've changed position, eh?"

Doggo looked down, his lit treat sticking from his mouth.

"I was young and inexperienced."

"What? Did seeing Dogeressa die change that? One death? Grow up. Bad things happen. See, I don't really like humans that much either. Even now. But will I go killing them just because I want to be free? No. Because they are living things like us, and if we want right we've gotta give them to them too."

"…you are speaking out of line, Sans." Doggo warned.

Sans snorted.

"So? Wasn't that you years back? Stop thinking of yourself as the savior sent down by whatever thing you believe lives in the clouds and start looking at the truth- you're just another confused monster just like the rest of us, going nuts over somethin' that we aren't even sure is worth it in the end."

"…if we do not leave, we will die. It will get colder and colder."

"And whose to say we won't die up there, either? We can't wage a war against humanity. There's eight billion of those fuckers. And war is what it's gonna come to if we kill to get up there."

"Yeah! W-we s-s-should worry a-about m-making sure w-we c-can live peacefully…" Alphys mumbled.

"Sans speaks the truth, although rather rudely." Asgore shot him a glance. "Even Dogamy and Undyne approve. We need to find other methods. Maybe if a bad human falls, maybe if-"

"Don't mind him, dear. I'm sure we can find a way through technology to break the barrier with the six we have." Toriel cut off Asgore coldly

Sans stiffened a little at that suggestion.

"The brilliant scientist Alphys can find a way! I'm believe in her!" Papyrus chirped.

Alphys blushed and scratched her cheek.

"R-really?"

"Of course, ya nerd!" Undyne had been silent until now. She picked Alphys up and gave her a spin.

Frisk looked around, feeling tears in her eyes.

"You… guys…"

She was hauled up by Papyrus. She hadn't noticed that the ice had faded and the lights returned.

"Awwww, we love you too human!"

"YEAH! LETS KILL HER WITH LOVE!" Undyne fist pumped.

Looks from everyone scolded the mention of the word "kill".

Sans was mumbling something and kicking the ground. Doggo looked at him quizzically before turning to them.

"It has been decided. We shall have a vote. If the kingdom so wishes, we shall spare her. You may spread your message so others are aware."

"YEAH!" Rocky called. He then froze and looked around embarrassed.

"Ahem… sorry, heh. Got excited." He scratched the back of his head.

Toriel giggled.

"It is alright."

"WE GOTTA GO MAKE SURE EVERYONE VOTES IN FAVOR!" Undyne yelled.

"WAIT! We should thank Sans! It's amazing my brother knew this would work!" Papyrus yelled.

Papyrus put her on the ground again.

The way he had worded that…

Was unsettling.

Sans didn't look… normal.

He walked over slowly, avoiding eye contact.

"Frisk… you okay?"

"Y-yeah?"

He got close and tugged on her arm.

"We need to talk in private. Now."

Something was wrong…

"What? What happened?"

Sans looked up at her, and his eyes were wide and scared.

"I… Frisk, I did s-"

" _ **Something stupid!"**_

Large vines broke through the floor, making the entire place shake. Alphys screamed.

Frisk scrambled and held onto Sans in sheer panic. It felt like the floor could collapse.

Sans snarled.

"Go away!"

Flowey?

He was at the far end of the room, right in front of the Howling stone.

Her heart leaped.

"Awww, that's not a nice way to treat your friend, is it?" Flowey cooed. "especially one that offered you help… you remember your little part of the deal?"

Sans growled softly.

Frisk felt rising horror in her gut.

"Sans… what did you do?"

* * *

 **AW NAW BOI U THOUGHT PAPYRUS WAS GONNA BE THE ONE?**

 **U THOUGHT WRONG BUSTA!**

 **There is a plothole that needs to be addressed.**

 **You remember the kids Asgore killed in the ruins?**

 **What happened to their souls?**

 **I completely forgot about this :/**

 **Let's just say they were discarded so they don't get used.**

 **Anyways, I am not so happy with this one.**

 **But there is a new oneshot out, called Sans Ross. Go and give it some love! And reviews XD.**

 **Prepare a box of tissues…**

 **Because next chapter we go HARD.**

 **Natural selection doesn't favor those who make stupid choices, after all ;)**

 **(I've been hardcore hinting some major events for the past couple of chapters FYI)**


	46. Chapter 45- Bleeding Out

" _You tell me to hold on_

 _Oh you tell me to hold on_

 _But innocence is gone_

 _And what was right is wrong_

 _'Cause I'm bleeding out_

 _Said if the last thing that I do_

 _Is to bring you down_

 _I'll bleed out for you_

 _So I bear my skin_

 _And I count my sins_

 _And I close my eyes_

 _And I take it in_

 _And I'm bleeding out_

 _I'm bleeding out for you (for you)" Bleed Out, Imagine Dragons_

* * *

"Sans… what did you do?"

Sans was tenser than she had ever seen him.

Everyone's heads darted back and forth, confused. Silver's tail tip twitched with apprehension, Papyrus was uncharacteristically quiet at the sight of the flower.

Rocky was head over heels with shock. His fur fluffed up slightly.

"I-is that a talking flower? I've seen it all!"

Frisk inched closer to Sans.

" _Leave._ It was never necessary to hold your part of the deal. You did _nothing."_ She could hear his chest rumbling with an aggressive growl.

Flowey chuckled, slowly bouncing back and forth on his stem. His powder blue petals danced with him.

"How rude of you, trashbag. Just because my assistance was never needed, does that mean I didn't help you? Without my intervention… Frisky there would be gone forever." Flowey stuck his tongue out in his signature mocking face.

"Sans." Frisk grabbed his shoulder and tugged it.

Sans's eyes darted to hers, then away. She caught a slight hue of fearful purple edging in his left eye light…

"What. Did. You. Do." She growled through her teeth. If he did what she thought he did, she was busting his other kneecap.

"Sans. Speak." Doggo barked, sternly.

"… I made a deal with the thing." Sans's voice lowered, and he shrunk a little.

"What kind of deal." Frisk urged, softer. Sans was getting more nervous by the second, she could tell.

"… I honestly never thought we'd be able to… talk him into… sparing you. He… offered… to have us all gather here, and… he said he'd… he wouldn't let you die, Frisk… I was desperate… you were taking so long…"

Frisk was silent for a few moments.

She briefly thought on how _gullible_ Sans had to be. Flowey KNEW that they wouldn't need his help. But… Flowey probably played the manipulation game, and although Sans was never a good target for mind games like such he was very desperate and not in the right mindset…

"…what was his part of the deal?"

Sans looked away.

"Sans." She grabbed his shoulder again, feeling a dark feeling bubble on her gut.

" _What did you give him?"_

"The souls, of course!" Flowey chirped. "What else would I need? Well… besides…" Flowey's façade faded. " _All of your souls?!"_

Sans took a bold step forward.

"Get lost, petals. I never gave you anything. You aren't getting anything. _Leave."_

"Oh, really? Because I beg to differ… while you guys were having your little "chat" to save the stupid little human…" a vine motioned towards the little flower.

Suddenly, 6 different souls came from the ground. They each had a main color, with trade hints of others swirling inside the heart. They circled Flowey, casting an eerie light.

Toriel covered her mouth with her paws.

Doggo jumped.

"How did you get those?!" His proper, calm demeanor slipped as his eyes widened in shock.

If Doggo was saying "oh shit," it was, most definitely…

An "oh shit" situation…

If Frisk listed the amount of profanities that spilled from Sans's mouth at that moment, she'd need to go to church for the rest of her life.

Rocky was freaking out, and Undyne had summoned a spear in her hand.

Frisk could feel their desperation and disbelief soaking into her moment of stunned, numb silence.

This was their entire future…

Being stolen before their eyes.

"Give them BACK!" Undyne yowled, fins flaring.

Frisk yelped when Sans pushed her back and swung his arm, sending a line of bones shooting at the little flower.

Flowey covered himself with his vines, and the bones bounced off harmlessly.

"You really are all idiots, aren't you? Don't you realize… try calling one of your "friends"! I didn't just sit here with these souls, dawdling… well, I should say _we,_ shouldn't I?"

Frisk felt a cold feeling in her soul, the feeling she got when something horribly wrong happened…

"We? What do you mean we? Who the hell would help you, besides stupid skeletons?" Undyne shot Sans a look, and Frisk wondered if his other kneecap would be gone before she had a chance to bust it herself.

"…" Frisk had a name in mind, but she didn't want to believe it…

"They should be here shortly! And, with the help of these souls, and the Core… we have every soul in the underground! You are such an idiot, skeleton. You let me gather all of you right here… all the most… problematic monsters. Without any of you around, gathering every monster was a cake-walk… so weak, hehe~" Flowey giggled.

"…what?" Sans looked back at Frisk.

If what Flowey said was right, then…

Sans's eyes were wide and dark.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN ALL THE SOULS!?" Undyne screeched, slamming the butt of her spear on the ground.

"Oh no…" Toriel whispered.

Asgore's eyes were huge, powerless.

"Heh, that's right! You're all alone… not for long! You'll see your friends soon! Because-"

"You're next."

Something grey whirred by Frisk's ear, and there was a slight sting a few seconds later. Warmth bubbled at the spot.

Frisk's hand clenched the bottom of her shirt.

Why did she have to be right?

Chara stood in the doorway, hips tilted smugly. Her tail waved back and forth and her eyes glowed a deep red.

"Greetings. Did you really think this was over, Frisky?" She showed her teeth.

Frisk growled deep in her chest, trying to hide the heart racing dread that built up in her body.

Toriel turned and froze when her eyes met Chara.

Asgore had the same reaction.

"C-ch…is…" Toriel couldn't form audible words.

"Hello, friend… took ya long enough." Flowey added passive aggressively.

Chara shot him a look.

Frisk swallowed and decided to muster a tiny bit of courage.

"I thought you were above getting help from a little craven." Her voice wasn't as loud as she would have liked.

Chara tilted her head.

"Oh, bold words for a little mutt… unfortunately, words won't sAv3 You." Chara's form flinched violently, and black liquid- corrupted Determination as as she remembered- spilled from her mouth, splattering across the stone floor. Frisk noticed there was far more than usual…

That could mean…

Frisk swallowed once more.

"Chara… y-you're… my child… you…"

"I am nOT yYouR ChilD." Chara spat suddenly, more black spewing from her mouth. Her entire form was twitching, as if taken by a seizure. Even after seeing this behavior before, it still terrified Frisk and made her feel sick. Even Silver's eyes widened and she took a silent step back, and she would have betted on Sans telling Paps to look away if he could.

"YOuR CchiLD diEd a LonG tIME agO."

Toriel was shaking, and the little threads at the bottom of her dress quivered with her body.

Asgore took a step forward, and turned so he was fully facing Chara. Frisk could not see his face, but she could assume it wasn't a good one.

"W-what do you mean? Chara… you will always be our child. H-how- or why- are you h-here now?"

"L I E S" Chara's voice itself was even beginning to freak out, as her body kept twitching.

"I aM NOt thAt CharA… and YOu aRe the SAme aS tHe ReST OF TheM… FiLTHY!"

Chara tightened into an aggressive stance, and Frisk felt her heart leap. She was going to _attack_ Asgore!

Frisk opened her mouth, but before her voice came out Flowey spoke over her.

"Chara! Let's deal with the more important business first! Like we planned?" Flowey tilted his head.

Chara's head slowly turned towards him.

"Do NOT order me, Flower." She snarled, and her spasms seemed to cease for the moment.

Flowey's cheek twitched with annoyance.

"Look, if we don't go with the plan we are going to fail. And you always were a sore loser."

"Don't. Push. It." Chara bared her fangs, tail sticking straight and ears pricked forward in aggression.

Chara's eyes slowly fixed on Frisk.

Her heart stopped.

Something _bad_ was going to happen.

Something worse.

Chara straightened out, chuckling.

"Though you do have a point, flower. We need… a little boost… of determination. And-" Chara held out her hand, and a swath of shadow curled into a knife above her palm.

"We've got some unfinished business."

The ground shook violently as vines erupted from it, and instantly Frisk was jumping away, avoiding speeding white bullets.

Doggo was the first to react, swinging his sword and sending a wave of blue magic. It didn't effect Flowey himself, but it cut down a few of his vines.

The next to react was Undyne, as she pulled her bow and summoned a magic arrow, shooting at the tiny flower so he'd go underground.

Papyrus was shocked and was looking around, trying to figure out a way to settle things peacefully no doubt. Toriel opened her mouth to say something but it was cut off by all the chaos as parts of the floor cracked and everything shook.

Frisk slashed with her dagger at the vine closest to her, slicing the green appendage in half. On of the thorns grazed her, but she only felt a minor sting on her knuckle as the rest was numbed by adrenaline.

Silver jumped into the air, bells clinging. Rocky followed up at her side, spear in hand. Silver too her short sword and went for the Flower, while Rocky stuck to the side as support. Flowey effortless avoided and blocked every move.

Asgore still hadn't joined the fight- instead he was looking around confusedly. Why?

Frisk stopped and gazed at the former king in confusion.

It was then she realized that in Flowey's act everyone had so easily forgotten about-

"Game over, Frisky."

Each second took years to play out.

By the time her heart skipped and her body had begun turning, she could see the silver blade in her peripheral vision, coming down to slash her open. She could see the multicolored light glinting off the tip of the blade.

For some reason, in a remote and detached part of her mind, she thought it looked beautiful.

The next moment, something was shoved in front of her and that beautiful glare was covered by a black jacket and the logo of a howling wolf.

The sound of ripping fabric, cracking and a splatter broke above all else.

Frisk didn't know what was going on.

But when she did…

It was too late.

Chara jumped back, eyes gleaming.

"Damn you… stupid skeleton… heh, but I guess it wasn't in vain… burn in hell." She spat.

Frisk's feet took a step back of their own accord, and she realized _Sans_ was in front of her.

She also noticed that the blade that had been above her only minutes ago had not struck.

There was a few drops of crimson on the floor between his feet.

Her mind wasn't putting together what it had too.

Everything felt so… blurry and dreamlike. Like it's wasn't real.

She could hear the blood roaring in her ears.

Everything else had stopped.

"B-brother? Sans? Are you okay?!" Papyrus spoke.

Sans hadn't moved.

It was then it clicked.

He had _blocked_ the hit.

 _Oh. No._

 _Oh god please no…_

"Hey! Everything alright over there!" Undyne yelled from the far side of the room.

Sans finally moved, and she couldn't see what he did from behind him… but there was a glimmer of hope that maybe he was alright.

Maybe it was just a scratch. Maybe she just caught his jacket.

He turned.

He looked a little unbalanced, like his feet couldn't carry his weight. Unsteady.

Shock?

Her eyes were met by a blaze of scarlet.

It ran all down his shirt, staining the white. Underneath was a deep, deep gash, going through his entire ribcage. Parts of the bones had broken off, leaving it crumpled. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth and his nose, one of his arms covered part of the wound while the other hung at his side. His eyes were dim and tired.

"Dammit Chara, you missed! You got the useless one instead!"

"Oh, it's far from useless~" the Wolf Demon cooed, holding the bloody knife close to her cheek.

Sans's mouth curled into one of his smiles, fangs poking out.

"H-heh… _bloody_ hell, amirite? Heh…" he was heaving.

Frisk was in complete shock.

She couldn't feel anything.

Someone said something behind her, but she didn't catch it.

She tried to form words, but her throat never produced the sound.

Her heart was running desperately, trying to tell her it was _okay_. He was going to be _okay,_ they could _fix_ it. Everything was fine. Sans was fine.

But her head knew better.

How cruelly painful the naïve, loving heart could be.

Sans stumbled forward, and it felt like the next instant he was right up against her, arms wrapped loosely around her and his weight resting up against her own. Closer now she could see tiny specks of ash dotting his shirt.

His breath was raspy.

"H-hey, I-I'm s-sorry, S-snap pea… Paps… I couldn't d-do it…"

His arms got a little looser, and slid down a little. His weight got heavier.

Then, he pulled back, bumping his skull against the side of her head.

"Papy… Frisk… I love ya both… I love ya both so much… I've always b-been a bit s-stupid, huh? But you know what, I'd do it all over… cause it really was somethin'. Loving the both of ya." Sans slumped a little, and his eye lights were completely gone. There was more dust.

"Welp, a-all there is left t-to say… is… heh… _knock 'em dead,_ Snap pea…"

There was a pile of dust and clothes at her feet.

Little particles danced in the air, contrasting the beautiful colors of the barrier that danced like the northern lights. Sans's broken soul hung above, cracked and broken. Seconds away from falling apart.

Frisk couldn't feel her body. She felt herself drop to her knees, and her ears felt misplaced. Blocked.

The way the glittering frost was tucked between the little indents of the stone floor was really quite pretty.

Sans wasn't there anymore. There was just dust.

Where had he gone?

She noticed he hadn't been wearing underwear.

Silly skeleton.

Things swarmed though her head. Little things she didn't think about. How soothing nis voice had grown to her. That odd warmth she enjoyed leaking from his bones. The way she loved hearing him snore or how funny he looked when he forgot he had stuck his tongue out and just sat there with the blue appendage sticking out.

Papyrus was right next to her, feet fidgeting in desperation.

"Sans! SANS! Someone! Please help! Do something! Hurry!"

There was a quiet sob from Toriel, heavy breathing from Rocky as he tried to suppress the tears.

No one said anything to the last remaining skeleton.

Frisk couldn't look up at him. Her eyes remained glued on the best friend she had ever had.

Had was the key word.

"…please? Human, tell them to do something to save my brother!" Papyrus begged desperately.

"…Paps…" everything broke. Like a dam bursting, everything they she hadn't been feeling hit her at once. Her body hunched over and she covered her hands with her eyes, feeling the most horrible feeling of grief and emptiness rip at her heart like a rabid animal. She started sobbing heavily, feeling like her soul was pouring from her mouth.

Everything was collapsing.

"S-s-sans…." She couldn't say anything else. Her body could only sob uselessly.

"H-human?" Papyrus asked, voice reaching a higher pitch from fear and grief.

The was a few clicks as Doggo made his way over. He placed his paw on Papyrus's shoulder.

"I am sorry. But… your brother is dust now. He's gone and there isn't anything we can do."

"What?! No! I refuse! I believe in him! He'll come back! He's just lazy!" Papyrus insisted.

For a few moments, the only sounds were that of Frisk's pathetic, painful sobbing.

"…r-right, Frisk? My brother… is coming back… right?"

Frisk curled in harder on herself, feeling the pain grow stronger.

"…brother…? I don't want you to be dead… please don't be dead… w-who will read me my bedtime story? Am I too old for one now? Is that why you won't come back?" Papyrus's voice was shaking with pain.

Frisk couldn't take it. She couldn't take Papyrus's pain too.

Chara began walking forward, and Doggo moved to stand protectively in front of them.

"Sans has made a sacrifice. He may have walked a burdened and dark path, but he always had a heart of gold. By his actions, I herby declare a drawback of all orders placed against this human and the rest of human kind! He is not truly dead, as I will make sure his death will continue to change and impact both us and the rest of our world, for to truly live is to make a difference in the heart, an invaluable difference. And I declare we will avenge and protect that change from the likes of you!" Doggo finished with a powerful bark.

"Save your words, half breed fool." Chara replied. She reached and grabbed what was left of Sans's soul.

She examined it.

"Funny how his soul still lingers… I thought monster souls didn't do that. Oh well… it seems to be powerful… we could use this in place, couldn't we?" Chara looked down, and Flowey popped up beside her.

He looked at it closely.

"Golly, I don't know. We could try… I'm tired of this stupid soap opera over some mentally ill skeleton who couldn't even walk straight half of the time.

Chara let out a dark chuckle.

"Agreed. Here." She pushed the soul to him, and he called the other six human souls. Then…

Hundreds of white souls filled the room, floating above them.

Frisk looked up, cheeks puffy.

They had gotten what they wanted…

Another soul…

Frisk felt an uncontrollable _rage._

How. _Dare._ They.

They would _not_ have Sans's soul. They would _not have any soul._

All they would get was a dagger tearing their entrails out before being sent to the darkest pit of hell where they would rot for all eternity.

Frisk snarled viciously, baring her fangs.

"Heheh, it works! You're all pretty useful for being so _d!"_

The souls began to circle Flowey violently, and they all came together and flashed.

Everything was replaced with blinding lights as Frisk was forced to cover her face.

When she managed to open her eyes again, everything went dark. No lights. No stone. Just… dark.

She could still feel Papyrus's and Doggo's presence around her.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the dark.

It wasn't one she recognized. Small, childish.

As it got closer, she could see what it was.

It looked like Toriel, except a child. With round ears, tiny horns and a line of fur running down from the sides of his jaw. He was wearing a green and yellow sweater just like Chara.

"Hey! It's me! You're best friend!" He closed his eyes.

Everything flashes again, but this time much weaker.

"ASRIEL DREEMUR!"

A gust of ice cold wind billowed through the area.

* * *

" _Love is the voice under all silences,_

 _The hope which has no opposite in fear;_

 _The strength so strong mere force is feebleness;_

 _The truth more first than sun_

 _And more last than star."_

 _E.E Cummings_

 **Please don't kill me please don't kill me I am not responsible for any mental issues caused by this chapter pliz**

 **Also sorry for the big wait, between a lot of emotional stress and nearly getting my eye pecked out again it was rough. This was supposed to be way longer but I cut it short because it's so overdue :b**

 **I've been dropping the hints forever now, come one guys. If you saw the lyric comic on DA it includes this scene, save for some minor inconsistencies. If you haven't look for my Open Letter Lyric Comic, it'll really hammer the feels.**

 **Also, big news! I am hosting a shipping contest on DA! It actually involves all of my works (Springheart, my new original series Eclipse, stand alone OC's, Foxglove…) but if you want to enter go do so!**

 **Anyways, hopefully I get the next chapter out sooner. Lol.**

 **From the wolfie in the mountains who needs to stop looking at kinky stuff on Pinterest…**

 **Comycat ~**


	47. Chapter 46- Savin' Me

**Sorry nothing has been said about Alphys in a while. Don't worry, they are all here. The breaks between chapters have left me making some mistakes, lel. I will go back and fix some of those.**

 **This is soooooo weak and crappy. I'm sowwy**

 _"I haven't lose a thing…_

 _My friends nor my pride as a wolf…_

 _I haven't lose a damn thing!" Kiba, Wolf's Rain_

* * *

Frisk squeezed her eyes shut against the wind.

When she opened them, Flowey… or Asriel…was different again…

He was bigger… levitating. Darker with sharp, slightly twisted horns and bigger fangs poking from his lip. Jet black eyes with tiny white dots. A purple cloak billowing as his body drifted back and forth in the air.

Chara looked different now as well. A little more… alive. Her skin wasn't deathly pale and her eyes were no longer deep black, instead having actual human eyes. She stood slightly behind… Asriel?, grinning.

Frisk snarled, locking eyes with her.

Her body shook with the urge to rip that smug bastard apart.

Doggo stood tall, while Papyrus's legs shook beside her.

Asriel pulled his arms up, and light blue star specked flames crackled on his palms, twirling between his fingers.

"Heheheh… finally! It feels so good… to finally have a body again! Doesn't it, Sis?"

Chara's eyes flicked to his and then back ahead, still cold.

Frisk could sense a tiny bit of weakness, confusion, and maybe even… fear in her eyes.

Frisk felt a growl bubble in her throat.

Now that she was actually breathing flesh, Chara was much weaker…

Now they were even.

Undyne sprinted up beside them, and both Silver and Rocky followed.

Frisk didn't know what Asgore and Toriel's reaction to this was. Honestly, that wasn't on her mind.

Frisk forced herself to stand up on uneasy legs. The only thing she could do was grip her dagger so hard her knuckles turned white and keep her eyes fixed ahead.

"So, this was your aim?" Doggo asked calmly.

"No. This only makes things… easier… you aren't the easiest to deal with, _King."_

Asriel suddenly pushed his palms forward, shooting a wide line of blue fire.

Frisk couldn't react fact enough.

Luckily, Doggo swung his blade, creating a small blue barrier that reflected the flames away, protecting everyone behind him.

Doggo didn't waste any time, leaping into the air and bringing his blade down over Asriel. He stepped back, only for Doggo to send himself hurtling to his side with just a light touch of his feet to the ground. Doggo swung again, and Asriel flicked his arm, bringing forth a large, decorative blade of light. It let of a rainbow hue from the golden metal as it clashed with Doggo's blade- tiny and meek looking in comparison.

"Wait, stop!" Toriel cried out. "That's my son, please stop fighting!" Toriel began to run and reach out, but Undyne held her back with an expression of slight annoyance, probably because she wasn't fighting at the moment.

 _Son… that's right, Asriel… that's the name of their lost son…_

"No. This isn't your son!" Doggo barked back.

Silver pulled her own blade and moved to support Doggo, only to be blocked by by Chara and her knife..

Chara apparently had the superior strength and sent the cat stumbling back, bells around her neck jangling.

"I don't think so." Chara sneered, moving forward.

"Silver!" Doggo came to her aid and body slammed Chara to the side.

The wolf human snarled and made a hand sign, and red magic swirled in her hand.

Magic?

 _Humans can't use magic…_ Frisk felt a shiver. The vibes of this magic felt… familiar.

Frisk got her answer.

Chara's right eye glowed with the magic…

Just like Sans's did when he used his.

"Too late, Pup."

Chara grabbed Rocky's soul with the magic and sent him flying backwards. Luckily, Asgore caught the dog before he hit the wall, but Rocky still let out a winded sound as his spear fell to the ground.

Frisk bristled with rage.

She was using _Sans's_ power.

Lighting began to flash, coming down at Asriel's command. The tower shook precariously and stones crumbled. Doggo backflipped and dodged the attacks, each getting closer and closer.

He landed finally on his hand and swept his sword in a circle, sending a wave of light blue.

Asriel held still, chuckling.

His eyes turned to Rocky, standing a little lopsided after being thrown.

Lighting flashed again.

When it cleared Rocky plopped limply to the ground, his thick fur singed and smoking.

"NO!" Undyne let go of Toriel and began running towards the dog.

Frisk felt another blow to her soul.

No…

Why was she just standing here?!

Papyrus hadn't moved either, and he let out a choked sound.

Rocky was dust before Undyne reached him.

"GODAMMIT! NO!" Undyne pounded the ground with her fists, trembling.

Alphys rushed over, and Frisk almost forgot she was there.

"Wait, Toriel!" Alphys looked back up.

Frisk turned her head to the motherly monster.

She was desperately trying to plead with Chara to remember, and Frisk couldn't make out the words that were overpowered by the sounds of Asriel and Doggo clashing.

This time Frisk _moved._

Chara raised her hand, snarling.

Something larger reached there first.

However, the knife that slashed hit both forms.

Asgore…?

It seemed like Asgore had tried to shield Toriel, but the knife slashed through both of them with the enhanced power that was granted to it by Sans's magic.

Toriel fell to her knees. Frisk couldn't see her face, but she was sure the goat was crying.

Asgore leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

Toriel shook a little.

Then it was over.

They both turned into piles of bloodied dust.

Chara was completely still, looking overwhelmed.

Frisk couldn't do it anymore.

She ran towards the other human, feet hitting the dust and sending it flying.

"FRISK, GET BACK!" Silver shouted.

Frisk snarled, locking eyes with Chara.

She lowered herself a little and used the extra energy to launch herself at point blank range, ready to slash Chara's throat.

Chara snapped out of her daze last minute and blocked Frisk's attack with her knife, the metals clashing together. She let out a vicious growl and pushed backwards.

Frisk tried kicking her ankle, and hit the bone in the side.

Chara grunted and flicked her hand.

The ground disappeared beneath her feet.

Frisk felt the weightlessness in her stomach as her soul was grabbed and she was sent flying upwards. She hit the invisible ceiling and cried out as pain spread through her back and black framed her vision.

Chara tried pulling down, but the magic released. It seemed she couldn't control it like Sans could.

The ground was coming startlingly fast.

Right before her head met the stone everything turned.

She went up a little and then back down, lightly.

"HUMAN?! Frisk?" Papyrus's shadow loomed over her.

Frisk coughed a little in response, tasting blood.

At least nothing was broken. As far as she knew.

Not that it mattered.

She used her elbows to prop herself up, head spinning.

"You three stay back. Let us handle it." Undyne was at their side, summoning a spear.

In the distance Stars crashed into the ground, meeting spears of glowing ice. The battle between Asriel and Doggo was still going strong, but Doggo looked slightly worn. Asriel had a smug, confident look on his face that suggested he wasn't even going full out.

His attacks had more power than before…

Was he using the souls of Rocky, Asgore and Toriel? Is that why they never showed up when they died?

Frisk snarled, her ears falling back. Tears stringed her eyes.

Everything was being ripped from her…

Papyrus bent down and pulled her close.

"It's okay human, I'm s-sure everthing will… be fine. They aren't dead. I… believe it. Do you?" Papyrus pulled back, looking to her for reassurance.

Frisk couldn't answer him.

She wasn't strong enough to tell him the truth.

"Papyrus…" Alphys started. Her face was streaked with tears as well.

"I… If you believe it Papyrus, i-I'm sure I-it will h-happen… that's all we h-have l-l-left to hold on to…" she hugged herself in fear and squeezed her eyes shut.

Frisk blinked in surprise.

… it seemed even the lizard was stronger than her now.

Frisk balled up her fists, tail prickling.

Why couldn't she be stronger?

Why was she so useless?!

If she was better, Sans's wouldn't be dead. No one would be dead.

It was all her fault… for making him care about her. For making them all care so much they'd come here… if she was dead, everyone would be free and happy and alive…

Frisk grabbed her hair and shut her eyes, trying to make the thoughts stop.

Her body hurt. Her blood felt like it was on fire and her heart felt like it was being stabbed and lit on fire.

"Human… it's okay! See, everything wi-"

"MRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNGGHHH!"

Frisk's head snapped up.

Asriel had his sword in hand again, Doggo was on the floor a little while away. Standing over him was Silver…

Except, her stomach was torn open by the blade. Blood spurted out and Frisk could see entrails and the peak of white bone.

Silver coughed up crimson, arms still spread.

She closed her eyes and grinned a little.

Her bells chimed as she fell to the ground and turned to dust.

"No… not another one… Silver…" Alphys was shaking more, fresh tears on her cheeks,

 _See, Alphys? It's not okay… what's the point of surviving if everyone else is dead… it's not going to be okay…_ Frisk thought bitterly.

She felt everything giving in.

There was nothing they could do.

Except wait for death to be with their friends again.

Doggo pulled himself to his feet, eyes going wide.

"S…sister…" he bared his fangs and leapt at Asriel, throwing himself in the fight again. His clothes were torn and he was covered in a few cuts and burns.

Meanwhile, Chara and Undyne were going blow for blow. Chara was blocking Undyne's spears, a bit of sweat going down her forehead.

"F-Frisk… I think she's not used to having a living body…" Alphys leaned in.

"…" Frisk didn't respond.

"She's… not used to being t-tired, or feeling what she is… maybe… we can use that… if we can keep her winded a-and not u-using her Corrupted Determination… w-we may w-win…"

"It doesn't matter." Frisk muttered back, low enough so Papyrus couldn't hear.

Alphys reeled back.

"W-what are you s-saying… Frisk, p-please don't g-give I-in… y-you have determination t-too, you need to keep using it if you want t-"

"GUYS, MOVE!" Undyne shouted.

Frisk looked up to see red glowing knives falling towards them.

Frisk didn't have a chance to move herself as she was scooped up and pulled backwards.

Knives hit the ground dangerously close, one even cutting through her tail fur. She felt Papyrus's chest heaving behind her.

Papyrus had pulled her back…

But…

Alphys was no more, to say the least.

Frisk hadn't even seen her disintegrate. She just blinked and she wasn't there anymore.

If Frisk didn't feel hopeless before, she felt utterly hopeless now.

"N-no… A-Al…YOU BASTARD!" Undyne let out a scream and rushed at Chara, spears flashing in the air.

Asriel turned from his fight with Doggo and sent stars crashing down in front of the fish monster.

Undyne swerved out of the way, but Chara had used the attack as cover and was gone.

"UNDYNE!" Papyrus called out, waving his arm.

She didn't look.

Too late.

Chara slashed across the fishes throat, ripping it open.

Undyne stumbled back, holding the gushing wound with her hand.

Frisk could see the light in her eyes flicked and fade.

She didn't turn into the Undying this time.

Something… was gone.

Undyne looked like… she actually gave in.

Maybe she knew too.

There was no point.

Unless…

Maybe…

Frisk looked up in thought…

It was just Doggo and Papyrus left now… Doggo was getting worse and worse by the second…

Maybe she could save just two…

Just two lives…

Frisk pulled herself from Papyrus's grasp and stood up.

Her gut felt like it was made of stones.

"Hey!" She called out.

Chara's head tilted to her, and immediately scrunched up.

"You want to be next? I've been waiting to flay you…" she snarled.

Frisk tried not to snap back.

"That's exactly what you'll get… that is, if you let these two go."

Asriel and Doggo stopped fighting.

"What's going on?" Asriel asked.

Chara chuckled.

"I think sweet little Frisky is making a deal with us."

"If you have my soul, you'll have the power you need… correct?"

"Perhaps."

"Then why waste energy on these two… let them go and you'll have what you want." Frisk swallowed. She wasn't nervous.

She was done.

The least she could do to repay Sans was protect his brother.

"Human! What are you saying!?"

Doggo stared her down with eyes of ice.

Frisk shivered a little.

"Hmmmm… tempting, maybe… what do you think… _Asriel…"_

"My goal isn't to take her soul… remember?" Asriel said, eyes narrowing. "We were going to reset the timeline."

"Oh, really? That's not how you explained it to me…" Chara turned slightly.

"I… said what I did to make you go along with it. I wanted my sister back… now that we have eachother, all we need to do is reset the timeline… and control it. That's our world, right there."

"Heheh… naïve Asriel… that's not how it works…" Chara began trembling.

Her eyes went black again.

"We need to clean this filth… all of it… no resets. Nothing… but _Judgment._ And _death."_

Asriel raised his hand.

"Chara… you need to focus… you know what will happen if you let that stuff get to your head. Just calm down…"

"NO!" Chara snapped, and black liquid came from her mouth.

Frisk took a step back.

"I will NOT calm down until SHE is DEAD! Till they all are!" Chara pulled her knife and attacked.

Frisk didn't know what to do in the split second. Part of her wanted it to end but the part of her that screamed for survival took over and she tried moving backwards.

However, Chara froze with wide eyes with her knife just centimeters away from Frisk's chest.

Doggo stopped in his tracks. Frisk just noticed he had been rushing towards her.

Chara was trembling with CD dripping down her chin.

Frisk didn't move either.

It was like the world had been frozen in time.

Something began to glow between them.

It was a white crackled soul.

It floated for a few seconds- little lines of white glow streaming from it- before it floated a little closer, like being attracted by a magnet.

Frisk took a few panicked steps back.

What the hell?!

It followed her nonetheless, until it came close to the bone pendant around her neck.

Then it flowed into the little bone, the entirety of it glowing softly for a second before fading away.

It felt warm against her chest.

Chara blinked, eyes still wide. Her skin had gotten paler and the CD was flowing more freely.

"…shit." She muttered, straightening.

"…Chara?" Asriel blinked.

Everything was quiet as everyone tried to figure out what the hell just happened.

 _That… was that…_

Frisk felt little, cold sparks of energy around the area, traveling down her spine. She started to shake.

 _That was Sans's soul, wasn't it? The bone… since it was from his body, his soul attached to it… and that means…_

Frisk's eye began to itch.

Frisk bared her fangs.

Maybe they evened the odds after all.

The feeling of the magic was extremely uncomfortable. She didn't want to sit still but her limbs felt stiff regardless. She felt heavier, and like cold sparks were going through her body. She felt a new Determination bubble through her body.

Chara's ears flattened a little, and the look she gave could stop a buffalo cold.

"Greaaaat. Sorry little doggie, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut our play date short…" Asriel sent one final batch of stars towards Doggo before flying to stand beside Chara.

"Don't think you've gained the upper hand… you're going to be here… forever! I will take your determination… and reset the timeline until everything fades! We will play this game over and over… Chara and I and you… heh."

A little unease bubbled in her stomach through the Determination.

Frisk shook her head and growled.

There was a little, cold tapping on her spine, like something was trying to get her attention. But nothing was there.

Frisk didn't know what to do next. She just raised her arm, feeling the energy creep through it.

Next she was surrounded by Gaster Blasters.

She jumped a little as their eyes met hers and they jumped too.

They seemed confused, and they looked between each other.

"H-human? How did you do that… those are my brothers…"

The Blasters turned to Papyrus's voice and exchanged more glances. Then their eyes narrowed and they opened their jaws, blue smoke spewing from them.

It seemed they made up their minds.

Tears threatened her again.

Frisk wiped her eyes and swallowed.

"Last chance, Asriel." The Blasters let out eerie growls as she spoke.

Asriel grinned.

"Fat chance. Why do you even try? It's pointless."

Frisk considered the question.

Why was she even trying now?

Just because she had a little more power now… but everyone else was dead that that wasn't going to change…

Right?

Well, maybe it was just for Papyrus. Maybe just for their memory.

But something in her heart was nagging her, saying otherwise.

Asriel raised his arms.

"You'll learn how truly pointless this really is!"

Doggo tried to start running again, but tripped and fell over due to his injuries.

The Blasters shot as the blue flames erupted from Asriel's paws.

Frisk cringed, covering her eyes.

 _Stupid… I can't flinch if I want a chance…_

Frisk snarled and ran towards the goat with her dagger.

He back up a little, winking.

The ground flashed in front of her.

Thank god she and the smarts to _avoid_ said spot, because a second later lighting crashed. It hurt her ears and made her hair stand up.

The Blasters surrounded Asriel, firing again. He flew above the blasts, scratching his head.

Frisk tried to grab his soul. She didn't really know how too… so she just closed her left eye and tried to focus on feeling his soul. However, all she felt was a jumbled mess.

Maybe she wasn't doing it right…

Or maybe she couldn't grab his, seeing as he didn't have his own.

One of the Blasters hissed behind her.

Frisk turned to see Chara right behind her, ready to strike.

This time her reaction was very involuntary.

Frisk grabbed Chara's soul and _pushed_.

It really hurt her arm, but at least it sent the other human crashing into the floor.

Frisk winced and gripped her shoulder, growling as she saw stars from the corner of her eye.

She began running, feeling her heart stop as they crashed around her and as she was sent tumbling to the floor, scraping her cheek.

Bones flashed above her, shielding her.

She didn't make those… right?

"Frisk, are you okay?" Papyrus called.

Frisk looked up.

Papyrus had helped her…?

"Back off!" She called back. Papyrus had no part in this!

"I'm not letting you fight alone! The great Papyrus wouldn't be so great if he let his best friend fight alone, Nyeh heh heh!"

Frisk opened her mouth to argue, but then decided to get up before she was cut in half by Asriel's quickly approaching sword.

The blade crashed into the stone beside her.

Frisk swiped at him, catching his horn.

Asriel just snorted and swiped her over the head with his free arm, and Frisk blacked out for a second.

Papyrus gasped and summoned bones from the ground to create another barrier between them.

"Human, don't try to kill him!"

"If you want to live you're going to have to let go of that philosophy!" Frisk rubbed her head. It hurt. Understandably.

"Human, I'm sure there's a reason this is happening. There is always a reason! Everyone has good in them!"

"Your brother sheltered you far too much." Asriel laughed. "It's pathetic."

"I'm afraid the only pathetic one here is you, sir."

Doggo limped up beside Papyrus.

"Anyone who does something like this is more than pathetic…" his eyes were shards of ice.

"Enough!" Asriel barked. "You're all weaklings, holding onto your last scrap of hope… there's no point! I'll show you… starting with you!" Asriel turned to her.

Everything went black… except Chara and Asriel…

Frisk could still see her own body as well.

What happened?

Her heart started to slam her ribcage.

Asriel shook his head before fading away himself, being replaced by a giant goat skull.

The skull moved just like a Gaster Blaster, opening its mouth in a laughing movement before sucking inward.

Suddenly she was being pulled to its jaws.

Frisk cried out and fell on her butt, trying to grip the ground… but there was nothing to hold on to in this void.

Frisk let out on final scream before she was pulled inside.

 _No, not now, not now, not now, not-_

Everything burned.

She curled up in a ball as it felt like she was being torn apart.

Then everything faded again, then back in.

Asriel was shaking his head.

Frisk looked up, feeling weak.

What just…

"So, still holding on. I underestimated how much determination you hold. No matter… I'll show you how much use that determination is to you now!"

His form erupted into smoke.

Frisk scrambled to her knees, her body quaking. Her breaths came fast and heavy.

When the smoke cleared, he was different.

 _Huge._

His face was wider, with longer fur. His lower body was an ice blue heart shape, his legs now nonexistent. His arms were thick and threatening.

"Heheh… feel Determined now?" His voiced echoed as he raised his arms, sending rainbow beams towards her.

Frisk couldn't move as they pierced her body, lighting it on fire before everything gave in.

Next thing she knew, she was back. Except, she felt fuzzier.

"Feel that? That's you fading away… you'll die and die and die until you lose everything! Your friends will forget, you will lose control of the timeline… that's what Determination gets you!"

He shot the beams again, and Frisk cried out as they killed her yet again.

But she still came back.

Her head was full of distress.

She couldn't do anything… she was helpless.

 _I'm going to die over and over again… dammit!_ Frisk snarled, the pain in her heart outdoing that in her body.

The little bone on her chest caught her attention… the sparks of energy going from it to her body were stronger…

Frisk looked down at the little white pendant.

Was it… or Sans… trying to say something?

Was he actually there?

 _Sans… are you with me?_

The sparks kept coming. Frisk didn't know what that meant, if that was an answer or not.

She knew it was probably nothing.

But that… the thought…

If Sans could still be there, who was to say the others weren't too?

And if they were there, they could be saved.

Frisk took in a breath, thinking on it before steeling her nerves.

Maybe she could save something else…

No, she would.

She'd save them all.

Frisk reached forward, trying to feel the souls of her friends.

Everything faded again…

* * *

 **This is sooooo baaaaad.**

 **I haven't really been on any of my accounts or anything, plus my glasses broke. So sorry if I haven't gotten back to you, I'm going to be looking at PMs shortly.**

 **I have to say thank you guys for the support. Really. I have been having a rough patch emotionally, and you all make me want to keep going. You guys have no idea what just being here means to me… so really, thank you!**

 **Anyways, we see Chara acting a little weird here. Now that she's alive (well… not for long without Sans's soul!) she's feeling emotions other than anger and rage… and that's gonna work against her!**

 **Also, see what I did with Frisk's little progression? Anger, depression, bargaining, disbelief (no not the au)… you guys recognize those :D**

 **There are probably a plethora of typos and stuff here. I can't see for shit. If anyone would like to submit any typos they see In a PM so I could fix them I would appreciate it :3.**

 **Anyhow, hopefully we don't have such a big break between chapters again and the quality goes back up! I can't believe I'm screwing up the finale ):0**

 **Also sorry for no reviews, I think I'll do them next chapter. When I don't get a migraine after reading and writing for more than 10 minutes.**

 **From the wolf in the mountains…**

 **Comycat**


	48. Chapter 47- Backstabber

" _Good friends help you to find important things when you have lost them… your smile, your hope, and your courage." Source unknown_

* * *

The pain faded as Frisk lingered in a black void for a few breaths.

Then, she felt a pull in her soul and something faded in in front of her.

It was… Rocky?

At least, Rocky with a white, glitchy blob covering his face. He was standing rigid, like a soldier. He was holding his spear with two paws.

Frisk's heart jumped.

"ROCKY!"

Frisk's legs began to move of their own accord as she ran up to the dog to grab him in a heartfelt hug.

However, just as she was inches away his spear slashed out at her, and she just narrowly avoided the attack. She heard the _rrrrrrrip_ of fabric and looked to find a part of her already torn scarf ripped off.

Rocky stomped his spear to the ground and straightened again, almost mindlessly.

"I must serve my people."

"R…ocky? What are you…?" Frisk blinked, worried.

Was this some sort of illusion by Asriel? It felt real enough.

"I have betrayed them. I'm a filthy traitor." Rocky's voice was monotone as he leapt at her again, though she was able to move out of his way easily this time as he was rather slow.

"Rocky, what are you talking about? No you aren't…"

She couldn't see his eyes, his face…

He seemed almost… lifeless…devoid…

Lost.

Rocky attacked again, his large paws thumping on the ground.

"I can't be kind. I can't be me. I have a duty."

"Rocky… can you hear me?"Frisk swallowed. Was this real? Or was her head playing some sort of cruel trick on her.

"You must die."

 _No… Rocky wouldn't say that… but it's Rocky! Unless Asriel is in control of him or something…_ Frisk gulped. _Well, I did reach out for them… so it's gotta be him. Is his soul messed up?_

Avoiding his attacks was relatively easy- she was small enough and fast enough where she could move away immediately. Rocky was a good fighter in the right circumstances. She would have to be careful, as one slip up would render her expired.

Frisk sidestepped out of his way again.

"Rocky, it's me, Frisk. It's okay… please stop."

Rocky let out a deep rattling growl and swung his spear. Frisk moved out of reach with her heart beating fast.

There was a slight ring above her.

Frisk looked up and gasped as her eyes met a dangerously close silver blade.

Frisk avoided the attack just in time, but a few strands of stray hair were not as lucky.

Frisk nearly stumbled over and whirled around, confused.

Silver?

Silver was in the same state, posture devoid of life and her face covered by a glitchy square.

Rocky turned around as well, claws clicking on the ground.

Silver was silent.

"Silver… what's Wrong? Why are you guys like this? If it's him, don't let him c-"

Frisk couldn't finish her sentence as Silver swung her sword at the same time Rocky charged, and Frisk narrowly dodged.

"Don't you remember? The time we all went shopping and then hung out at Alphys's lab? We're friends, remember?" Frisk tried desperately.

She couldn't hurt them… not after watching them die. If this was just a vision created by Asriel, he had driven her into a corner.

But… it felt too real.

Silver twitched slightly at her words.

Frisk's ears pricked.

…huh?

Rocky said something, but Frisk wasn't paying attention.

Maybe…

Frisk ducked Rocky's attack and took a few steps back.

"Rocky, remember when you had that weird crush on me? And how I didn't like the dog biscuits? Feelings are okay…" _depending_ , Frisk added silently. She kept thinking of how peeved Sans had been towards that… her eyes filled with tears once more thinking of him.

Rocky was silent this time and looked up, head tilted.

Silver snarled and threw a dagger. Frisk yelped and sidestepped.

"You saved us from the dogs in Blizzardland! Don't undo that… please remember!" Frisk begged.

Now they were both still. Like they were halfway in, halfway out.

Frisk felt a rush of excitement.

Was this good?

"You're both my friends… I'd never hurt you. We're in this together… even if you don't know it. Please… you guys died bravely, you're beyond this…"

Suddenly, the white covering Rocky's face shattered, little white specks scattering and fading. His azure blue eyes were wide.

Seeing Rocky break free, Silver's mask broke as well. She looked around, confused. The feather dangled from her ear and waved back and forth.

Frisk breathed a sign of relief.

She could see their souls float in front of them.

Did that mean…

"Frisk?... oh my god, I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?" Rocky hunched up in a scared stance. His tail went between his legs.

Frisk shook her head.

 _I… I saved them… right? So that means I can save them all… I can actually do this!_

Frisk took a deep breath.

"… you still have work to do… we will be seeing you, wolf." Silver nodded, as if she knew what Frisk was thinking.

"Hey, wait!" Frisk noticed they were beginning to fade into the black.

She reached out, not wanting to lose what she just got back.

However, the last she could see was the blue of Rocky's eyes turn to black as they both disappeared.

Frisk felt a jolt in her heart, but something in the back of her mind told her it was okay.

They were okay…

Next, Asgore and Toriel faded in their place, faces covered by the same white masks.

Frisk's ears flattened. Asgore was holding his trident.

This was the same deal, huh.

Asgore slammed the butt of the weapon into the ground, summoning a line of fire towards her.

Frisk took a deep breath and called upon one of the Gaster Blasters to shield her. The fire hit it harmlessly, the Blaster letting out a hissing sound.

Once the fire was gone it opened its mouth to attack, but Frisk put her hand up to stop it.

"No, no, don't attack!" Frisk looked right at Asgore. "Fighting isn't always the answer…"

He twitched.

Toriel swiped the air with her hand, creating a line of small fireballs.

Frisk ducked under them, wincing as the heat hit her face.

"Tori… you saved me, remember?" Frisk opened her arms.

"I want to save you now…"

They froze.

"I won't hurt you guys… you've both been so kind to me…"

Asgore puffed his chest and a Toriel raised her hand slowly for another attack.

The Blaster growled impatiently.

Frisk took a step back.

"… please remember me… we can have Butterscotch Cinnamon pie together when this is over…"

They both froze.

Then the masks broke.

Their souls appeared in front of their chests, glowing and white. Healthy.

"…c-child? What… was I…" Toriel hugged herself, eyes wide.

Asgore locked eyes with her.

"I don't know what you have done little one, but you have done well."

Frisk smiled, feeling warmth in her chest.

She felt stronger, like each soul she saved was giving her its strength.

Asgore returned her smile as they both faded away.

Undyne and Alphys took their place.

Undyne wasted no time in summoning her spears and sending them hurtling towards her.

Frisk barely had any time to react, and she narrowly dodged them.

Frisk bit her lip to keep from cursing.

"The humans must die!" She snarled. Frisk couldn't see her face but she was sure she'd be snarling.

"M-my friends lie… they don't like me… they can't like me…" Alphys was shaking.

Frisk felt a pang of sympathy.

"Alphys… we don't think that. We rea-"

Frisk was cut off by Undyne, who came at her with a spear. Frisk gasped and sidestepped, feeling a burn as the tip caught her shoulder. Frisk growled as her chest burned with annoyance.

"Will you let me finish a sentence!" She snapped.

Undyne growled back and attacked again.

Frisk swerved around the the side.

"You still are Satan fish, huh. If you weren't messed up I would pay you back for what you did to Sans's knee… as much as the jerk deserved it."

Undyne didn't hesitate for a moment.

Frisk didn't like how close those spears were getting…

She'd have to get Alphys back instead. At least she wasn't trying to bloodily murder her.

"Alphys, its okay. We like you. I don't think our little group would be the same without ya, you know?" Alphys stopped shaking momentarily.

"We don't care about mistakes from the past Al. You're a really nice and kind person with lots of quirks. We'll help you…you can do it… I know sometimes it feels like you can't… I get it… but you can…" Frisk backed out of Undyne's next attack, trying to sound as strong as possible on that last part. She was still struggling with that herself. She wasn't the most confident person at times, so she shouldn't exactly be preaching.

Alphys was silent and still.

Then, thank the stars, the mask broke.

She blinked a few times.

"…huh? F-frisk…? Undyne! S-stop that!"

Undyne froze at Alphys's voice.

Her mask broke too and she turned to Alphys.

"Stop what?"

"…trying… to k-kill Frisk?"

"What! I think I'd know if…" Undyne's glance fell to her spear. "…oh. Whoops!"

Frisk face palmed.

"…whooops?"

They were beginning to fade away now.

"Yeah nerd, _whoops._ Get em', ya furball." Undyne flashed her a big, toothy grin as she dissolved into the darkness.

Frisk blinked and waited.

It felt like she was waiting forever.

Her heart was throbbing with hope.

When she saw a glimpse of white and blue her heart soared.

She forgot that he didn't remember her and yelled out his name, her feet carrying her over towards him.

"Sans!"

However, he let out a vicious snarl and snapped at her, his fangs just centimeters shy of her face.

Frisk stumbled back, suddenly remembering that Sans wasn't Sans.

Not just yet.

There was a glowing white and black figure next to him, and she recognized Dapple, Sans's soul wolf.

His ears pricked forward and gums pulled back to show off his fangs. His fur bristled and his tail stuck up in aggression. Saliva dripped from his mouth in thick streams.

Frisk looked beside her to see Snow cowering at her side. Frisk noticed how much smaller she was compared to Dapple… she looked so scared and confused and hurt, close to the ground with her tail snug between her legs and ears pulled back.

Frisk gulped and looked back up.

"…Sans? Can you hear me?"

Sans's body vibrated with a growl and he flicked his hand, summoning a barrage of bones.

Frisk yelped and ran to avoid them, feeling them whir past her. She felt slight stings on her neck and arm and thigh from the bones just slightly catching her, cutting fabric and leaving light scratches.

"Sans, please!" This was worse than Undyne. Even her fighting spirit would never match Sans's primal brutality when he was provoked…

Dapple leaped towards Snow, snapping at the smaller wolf. Snow yelped and rolled over, only to be assaulted viciously. The two ghost wolves tangled together in a yelling and barking pile.

Frisk felt a shiver of fear.

To her surprise, he spoke.

"She'll never love you."

… _she? Is he talking to himself? Who's she?_

"Sans?" Why did she lose her head when it was him? She thought she had this down, but now she kept calling his name like it would do something.

"All you do is hurt people. If it's not them, it's hurting yourself. Pathetic." Sans spat. His fangs were more bared than she had ever seen them, and he was gripping his upper right arm tightly… the spot where she knew many scars lie.

He was showing much more emotion than the others had… some had hints of their deepest problems, but Sans was nothing but raw emotion and anger.

Frisk took a deep breath.

"That's not true, knucklehead. Come on, snap out of it. Please…"

Sans snarled and raised his hand. Suddenly, she felt something being pulled from her.

He had summoned all five of the Gaster Blasters.

That's what he pulled.

Frisk yelped as they opened their jaws.

However, they stopped.

They looked down at her in confusion and then looked between themselves like they had before.

Sans didn't seem to notice.

"The humans took everything away. He loved them more than me. They make it hurt." Sans was spitting gibberish now, shaking. He had moved from his self hate and doubt to his hatred for humans, it seemed.

Frisk jumped and ran as bones appeared below her, and then above. Each narrow evasion felt like her last.

"I _hate_ them, I _HATE_ them… I hate this stupid curse… I hate being like this… this is why… this is why she won't love you. You'll only hurt. You'll only hurt everyone." The attacks didn't stop, and Frisk was beginning to panic.

"Sans! Stop! I don't know what you mean, but this isn't you!" It crossed her mind how cheesy that sounded. Oh well. She was about to die, no time to pick pretty words.

The attacks were getting ridiculous, but unfocused. He wasn't really aiming at her anymore-if he was she'd be dead.

Suddenly, the Blasters seemed to decide something and flew down, blocking off some of his attacks.

 _They… they're…_ Frisk couldn't believe the intimidating skull creatures actually chose her… though, they were probably doing it for Sans's sake.

The attacks stopped briefly, as Sans seemed confused.

Frisk stumbled to a stop, panting.

She was at a loss of words. She didn't know what to say…

But…

Her feet began to drag her towards him.

Her head screamed at her, telling her she was going to get a bone through her chest… but her heart told her it was okay.

Even if that was her fate, she decided, so be it.

If she could pick who she'd die from, she wouldn't pick any differently.

Sans's head snapped up and he bared his teeth even more, summoning bones around him.

He took a step back as she got closer.

The Blasters hissed behind her. They weren't moving.

Frisk opened her arms.

"Cm'ere, tough guy."

Sans snapped at her.

She was aware of a bone floating behind her.

She kept moving, and in one swift motion wrapped her arms around him and rested her body against his.

"If you wanna do it, do it. But I trust you… no matter what decision you take…" Frisk squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the tears from rolling down her face. The image of his dust was seared in her eyelids.

Sans stiffened, then jerked involuntarily, like something snapped into place.

Frisk only tightened her grip, resting her face in the fur of his coat. It needed a wash.

He was shaking slightly, then relaxed. His breathing was heavy.

After a few breaths she felt him wrap his left arm around her waist.

"…you are the biggest handful in the history of handfuls…" he muttered.

Frisk smiled a little, a tiny sob in her chest.

"And you're the biggest asshole. I can't believe… you died… you idiot." Frisk tightened her grip even more, trying to muffle the pain in her chest.

"…shaddup, Snap pea. Just shaddup." She felt him ruffle her hair.

She saw from the corner of her eye Dapple cowering on the ground, looking mortified. Snow aimed a few licks towards his face.

Frisk noticed Sans was becoming faint.

"Oh, shit! Don't go!" Frisk stepped back, scared. She didn't want him to fade. What if he didn't come back?

Sans closed his eyes.

"Sorry, snap pea… can't stop it. But… get em'. I'll be rooting for ya…"

"Sans, please!" She grabbed his coat.

He huffed.

"I told you I can't stop it… but ya'know, as stupid as this sounds… I'll be with ya spiritually… if that makes sense. I'll always be. Cause you'll always be my Puppo." He looked away shyly.

Frisk wasn't fazed. She had to bite her bottom lip as he faded away completely, leaving nothing behind.

She had saved everyone… right?

Something was missing…

Frisk grabbed the bone pendant, confused.

 _What's… what did I do wrong?_

Snow looked at her. Dapple was gone as well.

Frisk stared into Snow's deep green eyes, almost like she was being lost in her own.

Something snapped.

What if…

Images flooded her head, of a child. An innocent child, losing their sibling. Carrying them off to a field of flowers. Of a sweet child losing his feelings and soul. A kind child. A tragic child.

Her enemy was nothing but this sad, lonely child…

LOVE wouldn't get her anywhere.

But love…

Frisk steeled herself and called out, determination bubbling in her soul.

"ASRIEL!" She tried feeling his soul, his and his own.

She was thrown back into the place where she had been before, lying on the ground covered in wounds from his attacks.

Asriel froze, eyes wide.

"What… what did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Frisk focused on her Determination, using it to try to find his soul. It had to be somewhere. Asriel the child had to be somewhere…

"STOP!" He send a wave of beams at her. And they hit. But she pulled through the pain, never losing focus.

"QUIT IT! I SAID STOP!"

More pain.

Feeling faint…

"Please… I only…"

The beams missed her now.

"I… I didn't want to hurt you…"

Even smaller beams.

"I didn't want to hurt them…"

Only fireballs now.

"I… I'm just lonely… and scared… I wanted Chara back… I wanted to make her happy… I wanted to play with my sis again…"

Only three pitiful fireballs now.

"So please… just stop… just stop! AND

LET

ME

WIN!"

Asriel screamed out as he shot a wave of energy, and Frisk felt like her body would shatter into a million shards at any moment.

She gritted her teeth and held on to that burning feeling. She had no time for fear. No doubt. It was all eaten up by the overwhelming burning. The need to prevail.

Then, as soon as it came, it stopped. Frisk took in a breath and fell over. Still, she held on.

"…I'm so scared… and alone… I… I can't…"

Asriel faded. The big, scary Asriel, anyways.

He was replaced by a tiny child, with long awkward looking fur on his jaw. A crying child.

Frisk pulled herself to her knees, feeling dizzy.

"…I always was a crybaby… just ask Chara…"

Frisk blinked.

He pulled his sleeve away and looked at the ground.

"I… I'm sorry… I'm sorry I hurt you. I… understand if you can't forgive me… Frisk, right?"

Frisk nodded.

Asriel grabbed his arm.

Frisk's mind was a rather straight track. She was tired.

"I… I get if you hate me… it's okay. I acted horrible and mean and strange… I hurt people… I killed your friends… there's no excuse for that."

Frisk looked up, and blinked.

There was only a child in front of her. Not a killer.

How could she not forgive him?

Logic was so cold and hard… she wanted none of it. She wanted none of that coldness, none of that sense.

She only wanted the warmth of what only could be described as dumb sentimentality.

"It's… okay… I forgive you." She pushed out.

Asriel looked up, eyes wide.

"… wha… really? Frisk, come on…" tears bubbled in his eyes once more. "You're gonna make me cry again… besides, even if… if you aren't mad, I… I can't keep all these souls. These souls belong to people, people you know. The least I can do is return them. But… first… there's something I need to do… as an apology, I guess, though nothing could ever make it up to you… but it's something… that should have been done a long time ago."

Asriel closed his eyes and stuck his arms out, and his feet rose above the ground. He floated in the air.

The air began to move.

Colors began to flash as hundreds of souls came out, a bunch of glowing white swirling as the ground shook. Frisk yelped and covered her eyes.

Somewhere, something cracked. Then it shattered.

The air changed immediately.

It was… warm…

She hadn't noticed how cold it had been, but the warmth burned her skin.

Frisk opened her eyes.

What… happened…?

Asriel touched back onto the ground again, opening his eyes.

"I opened the barrier."

 _The…barrier…so… we're free! We're all free!_ Frisk was filled with excitement.

Looks like living in a big house with everyone wasn't far fetched anymore.

Asriel didn't share her excitement.

"Frisk… I have to go now. Without the souls… I can't keep this form…"

Frisk's enthusiasm faded.

"In a little bit… I will be back to a soulless flower, unable to feel again. So… it's just best if you forget about me… alright?"

Frisk felt a pang.

Even after that…

That wasn't fair…

Frisk sighed, fighting back tears.

All he was was a child.

Yet…

Frisk grunted and got to her feet, and closed the distance.

She hugged the child that had just put her and all her friends in danger.

Screw logic.

Asriel was taken aback. Then, he gripped her so tight she thought for a moment he was trying to crush her.

"Ha… I… don't wanna let go." His voice was choked.

"I'm sorry…" he added, quieter.

"We are just stupid kids…"

Frisk closed her eyes.

"… Stupid, is one word." A voice sneered.

Frisk's head jerked up.

Chara was behind Asriel, looking more than sour.

Where did she come from?! Was she hiding this entire time?!

"…what a shame. I really wanted to live with you… in our world. But I see even you have been fooled by this filthy world… don't worry sweet Asriel… I will SAVE you!"

Frisk opened her mouth to scream "stop", but the damage was already done.

A knife was pushed through Asriel's back, and he went limp in her grasp.

He coughed a little, splattering crimson on her shoulder.

"…Chara…"

Frisk was too stunned to process the events, mind blank for a few moments. Then, she clutched Asriel, full with rage.

"How could you!?" She snapped.

"F-frisk… don't… get mad… I was going to fade away anyways… she… isn't herself… please… let us be together again… only you…" Asriel closed his eyes and turned to dust.

"Time to take you back to our special little meeting place! I don't have the energy to do much else… but I'll make sure you perish for what you've done!" Chara screeched.

The air grew colder as Frisk felt a horrible dread.

Chara was going to kill her.

* * *

 **Sorry for the huge delay. Again.**

 **Not so happy with the first part. Last part was okay.**

 **I have been feeling worse and worse, lel.**

 **I really, really urge you all to get a DA so you can follow me there. In case anything happens, and so you can be notified about new HT stuff once this is over.**

 **Two more chapters to go! So close, aaaah!**

 **Chara isn't happy, to say the least.**

 **Welp, gotta go!**

 **Stay determined!**

 **Reviews will be answered next chapter.**

 **From the wolf in the mountains,**

 **Comycat**


	49. Chapter 48- Wolfsong

" _Whenever you feel like giving up remember why you held on for so long."_

* * *

Frisk stared in horror as any warmth faded, and she was suddenly in an even darker, more unforgiving void. Her body trembled with dread as her stomach dropped six feet under.

Chara was jerking violently, deep black red liquid leaking from her nose and mouth and eyes. Her skin was back to the pale color of death.

Frisk couldn't fight for long. Her body was battered and tired… and somehow, this place… she felt… faint here.

"You feel that? That's your soul fading…" Chara chuckled. "You've been in this place before, remember? When we first met… ironic, isn't it. That this will be the place we both stay for eternity!" Chara snarled.

Something stepped up beside her.

It was her own soul wolf, deep black. It's fur was bristly and sharp looking, running over its bulky muscles and frame. It's eyes were blood red and threatening as black pooled from its jaw like saliva. Frisk noticed Snow was in sight as well, cowering close to her side. The wolf looked pitifully small compared to Chara's, with soft white fur instead of the harsh black.

Frisk's mind was in a panic between rage and fear. Deep, raw fear.

She couldn't fight for long. Her body was unsteady and weak.

...something felt wrong.

Asriel's voice rang in her head.

" _she… isn't herself… please… let us be together again… only you…"_

Let them…

Be together?

Frisk tightened up.

Was fighting… the right thing?

But it was Chara! She was…

Wasn't…

Herself.

Chara barked, snapping Frisk from her thoughts.

"Hey! Don't ignore me… you ruined EVERYTHING!" Chara leaped, knife in hand.

Frisk had shoved her dagger in her pocket at some point and pulled it back out, blocking Chara's knife in a flash of metal.

Frisk heard savage barking and snarling as Chara's soul wolf attacked her own, grabbing it by the neck and shaking her viciously before flinging her a good distance away.

Frisk inhaled, acting on instinct and trying to kick Chara's legs from under her. Frisk realized she didn't even have enough strength to do that- the best she could manage was only a slightly scraping kick to the knee. That set her off balance and next second Chara had decked her in the face, sending her to the ground.

The world churned. Frisk felt something hot on her cheek and touched her finger to it, pulling it back to find the corrupted Determination that seemed to be leaking profusely from even Chara's nose and ear, creating a bubbling sound as she panted.

Something clicked.

When Asriel said she wasn't herself…

This was the cause, wasn't it?

It was an absurd thought. The things Chara had done were horrible. Frisk hated her- nothing could ever change that fact. But in the end… she was just a child. Just like him. A scared child. Not understanding the world and acting so. She may not be a child in appearance. But she was once, just as Asriel and Sans and even she had been. They all acted and carried their experiences from that time in different manners, but they had all been scared children all the same.

So who's to say Frisk could judge Chara for her actions, no matter how grievous? Who's to say she could blame the person for what most likely a group of unsavory experiences and mind altering determination would have done?

Frisk sneezed, looking up. Chara was growling nonstop, standing over her.

There was… no winning this fight, either way.

Except, maybe if she got rid of that Corrupted Determination… she had a chance of talking. Finding what little emotion this demon had left. Asriel still felt for his adoptive sister. Chara must feel the same way, right? Deep inside? She did seek him out. That tiny chance that a heart lie under all that dark blood and corrupted body was all she had to hang into.

Frisk rolled over before Chara could kick her, getting shakily to her feet.

How would she get rid of the Corrupted Determination, anyways?

Chara attacked again, causing Frisk to backstep out of the way of the slashing blade.

Maybe… if she were to cause enough wounds, the Corrupted Determination would drain?

Problem was, that would take time.

Frisk didn't have time.

Chara tried stabbing her in the chest, and Frisk narrowly avoided, tumbling to the side. She threw her arms in circles to balance her battered body and hissed.

"What's wrong, can't fight back? Pathetic!" The black eared girl hissed, baring her fangs.

Frisk gritted her teeth, swallowing down nausea.

Chara snarled and tried attacking again.

Frisk felt a twinge of burning in her chest, the determination that still guided her.

Frisk used her superior speed to strike last second, moving towards the attack but enough to the side to not get hit. The blade grazed her cheek as Frisk buried her dagger in Chara's gut.

Chara let out a small screech as Frisk pulled back, pulling the dagger with her. The black liquid spurted from the wound, instantly soaking the fabric.

Chara grinned wickedly.

"You can't kill me. 'Tis only a flesh wound, as they say."

Frisk blinked and narrowed her eyes.

Chara's grin faded with in a suspicious manner.

"Nothing you do is going to work, dog. I've won. You will pay for setting me back! WITH YOUR BLOOD!"

She let out a laugh worthy of an insane asylum and moved forward suddenly, taking Frisk by surprise.

Frisk cried out as the blade caught her side, leaving a cut that was far too deep for her taste. Frisk tried reacting despite the pain and retaliating, leaving a good cut on Chara's shoulder.

Frisk could still hear the sounds of a horrifying dog fight happening somewhere around them. Frisk stumbled and put distance between them, gripping her side. Her head swam.

 _Great. I can't outlast her like this…_ Frisk blinked away black spots. _I… I can't…_

She shook her head.

 _No. We did it. We can all live together on the surface. I'm not giving that up. I'm not letting Asriel's last wish be in vain! I don't care that I'm weak and tired, I'm a god damn wolf and I'm going to act like it till the end!_

Frisk bared her fangs, green eyes burning.

Chara said something, but Frisk couldn't make it out. Her ears felt muffled, like she was underwater.

Frisk made the first move this time, feinting to the side last minute. Chara predicted this and moved with her, step for step. Their eyes locked and Frisk gathered strength in her legs and _tackled_ Chara over, digging the dagger in her opponents chest.

Chara screamed and grabbed her ears, holding her head back as they fell to the ground. Chara smashed her forehead into hers, causing her vision to go fuzzy.

Frisk lost grip of the knife as she kicked at the body on top of her, using both of her hands to stop the knife from coming down. Frisk felt Chara stomp on the deep wound on her wide and she wheezed, not able to fully cry out as there was a knee now crushing her chest. Black liquid was dripping everywhere, and Frisk felt it warm on her shirt.

The knife was dangerously close.

"Just give up and DIE!"

Frisk snapped at her in response.

"Not until you admit you still feel for Asriel!"

Chara flinched.

Frisk took this opportunity to bolt up as her grip momentarily lessened, opening her mouth as wide as it would go and burying her teeth into Chara's throat, feeling her fangs piercing the soft, cold flesh. Horrible tasting blood flowed into her mouth as she pierced the jugular, keeping a firm grip.

At the same time Frisk felt unbearable pain in her torso as the knife came down and went in. Tears bubbled in her eyes as she tightened her grip to stop from crying out.

They sat there like that for a few moments, both bodies quivering, unable to move.

Then Chara pulled the blade out and started struggling to release Frisk's fangs from her throat. A normal person would be dead, but Chara was already dead. A ridiculous amount of Corrupted Determination was already pooled beneath them, mixed with Frisk's own crimson blood.

She felt light, unfocused. But using the last of her strength, Frisk hardened her bite and with a mighty tug, moving along with Chara's pulling, ripped away, tearing the flesh out.

More of the black blood poured out as Chara grasped at her throat, gurgling.

Frisk collapsed to the ground.

She felt cold.

She was panting, blood coming from her mouth and pooling under her. Some was the black from Chara, but that was only soon swirls in a pool of brighter red. Every breath was hard and cold sweat accumulated on her neck.

 _I… can't reset… can I…_ the thought brushed her mind. Why it did, she didn't know.

 _This… is…_

Frisk swallowed.

No, a little longer.

"Nnnnnnnn, how dare you!" Chara's voice still didn't sound right, but her throat had regenerated enough for her to talk.

Frisk couldn't see her. She couldn't lift her head.

"I have no feelings for that weak hearted coward!" Chara finished a little too harshly.

Frisk detected something.

"Tha… that black stuff… has no… feelings… not you…" Frisk huffed.

Chara was silent.

"…what nonsense do you spew, dog!?"

"You do… feel… you always have… haven't you… you… you just…" it felt so bad. Every word. Hurt.

"You just… ended up… in the wrong… situation… at the wrong… time… it isn't… entirely… your fault… Asriel… I don't know… who you were before… but he did… and you aren't that…"

"STOP! Nothing matters but my goals!"

"Think… about those… would living… in a perfect… world… alone… really suit you? What's… the point… the best… things… in this world… are flawed." Sans immediately came to mind. The way he messed with her, tussled her hair. How kindhearted he could be, no matter how annoying his pestering was. No matter how broken he was inside.

"Lies. This world is filthy and horrid. Nothing here is beautiful. It's all disgusting." Chara's voice held something that gave Frisk hope. Did her plan work.

"Don't judge a mountain… b-based off of a single view…For all you know… there's a beautiful valley of flowers… on the other side… just giving up with that notion… makes the flowers… wilt... only the prettiest flowers… bloom from the dirtiest soil… if nothing died on that soil… if nothing made it filthy… no flowers could grow…" Frisk could see Snow lying on the ground, unmoving.

Frisk closed her eyes, but opened them immediately. She couldn't fade yet.

"What… I'm t-trying to say, is… don't judge the… rest of this world… based on what… you've experienced. Yes, I-it's… hard at times… but… there are good people… and good flowers on not the best people… we all were… children… at some point… we were all blissfully innocent… but we were all p-pricked by the thorn… on that beautiful red rose… then we all turned out… so different… Asriel… he loved you… you were his r-rose, a-and he loved you… even after you hurt him with your t-thorns…" Frisk didn't know if it was the closeness to death, or maybe the blood loss that made her talk like this. It was all spilling out with the crimson blood.

Chara didn't say a word. For a second Frisk wondered if she had slipped into death without knowing. But she was thankfully proven wrong.

"I know what y-you're trying t-to do, dog!" Chara's voice shook, and it didn't sound like Chara anymore.

Frisk felt the corner of her mouth twitch.

"We hate e-eachother… b-but… we are similar, aren't we… we were both… rejected by this world… and we are both roses… you're Asriel's and I'm Sans's… we both h-hurt p-people, intentionally o-or not… but we both have the o-opportunity t-to be beautiful regardless. There's… nothing else… I can say… to sway you… except… Asriel… asked me… to let you two be together again… wherever you m-may meet…"

She felt so groggy. So sleepy.

Couldn't… hold on…

"…you are absolutely ridiculous, dog. How dare you… do this to me… I can't be with him… I can't die. I can't die, you idiot! So how DARE you tease me with that aspect!" Chara screeched.

"…hnnn… just… let go… of… your… corrupted… just… accept… it's the last…" Frisk's eyes closed of their own accord.

Then there was nothing.

…

Sans's knee _hurt._

Why was he laying on it?

Why was it cold.

Why was he being shaken.

Where was Fri-

Sans shot up.

Holy. Shit.

The recent events filled his skull. The last thing he remembered was Frisk hugging him close, though for what reason was beyond him. The thing he remembered before that was dying.

Dying…

Sans rubbed his skull and groaned. He was in hell, wasn't he. He knew he had been bad, but was it-

Wait, if he was in hell why was Papyrus sitting in front of him!?

Sans jolted.

"P-paps?"

Papyrus blinked, smiling. He looked dirty but otherwise unharmed.

"Brother! You have no idea… how relieved…" he wiped at his eyes.

Sans blinked, finally looking around him. Everyone was still here… except Flowey and Chara were gone. What…? Why was he still alive?

"Paps, don't do that, please." Sans rubbed his brother's skull, feeling a little awkward. Being dead just a bit ago is kinda awkward.

"Good, the bone bag is up. Ya know what the fuck happened?" Undyne said, a little too loudly.

Sans rubbed his ear holes.

"No, I do not know what happened. I am supposed to be dead."

"So am I, dumbass." Undyne replied, crouching in front of him.

Sans blinked.

"What?"

"Everyone except Frisk, Papyrus and the king died, pal. Then we just woke up good as new."

Oh.

That was…

"That's a bummer, huh." Sans sighed. He was too tired for this shit.

"The barrier is open too." Undyne grinned.

"…what."

"I said, THE BARRIER IS FUCKING OPEN! WE ARE FREE NERD!" Undyne screamed, jumping up and pumping her fists.

Sans was struck.

…free?

Like, now?

Papyrus looked back up to him, ecstatic.

"Yes, brother! Frisk must have done something! I always knew she was a good human! She had a good role model!" Papyrus put his hand on his chest and puffed it out in pride.

"Yeah, sure bro… wait, where is she?" Sans looked around frantically. Then, it hit him…

…oh god.

He had actually confessed-

Sans hit his face in his hands, feeling his cheeks light afire. Why couldn't he have just died?!

"Actually…" Undyne turned around to looked at Rocky, who was standing a little ways away. Toriel, Doggo, and Asgore talked in hushed voices, Silver close. Alphys was hidden behind Asgore's huge form.

"She up, dude? Sans is!"

Rocky looked up, wide eyed.

"N-no… Something isn't right Undyne…"

"She's just probably tuckered out from saving an entire race, it's cooool." Undyne waved him off.

Sans burst to his feet faster than he probably should have and wobbled over to where Rocky was standing. Now he saw Frisk laying on the ground, unmoving.

He felt soul dropping distress.

"Oi, Sans, chill! It's fine!" Undyne called as Sans got down on his knees, wincing a little. Damn his bad knee.

Sans pressed his fingers to her cheek gently. Cold.

Her breathing was…

Holy FUCK!

"FUCKING HELL!" Sans shook Frisk, maybe a little too roughly. It may have been just him, but it didn't look like she was breathing at all.

"What?" Undyne asked. Toriel and the others looked over.

Sans tilted his ear towards her chest. Her heartbeat was faint-very. And for humans, that was a bad.

"She isn't breathing, you fucking moron! Come on Snap pea, wake up! Wake up wake up wake up!" Sans was filled with panic. What the fuck should he do, what could he do, what was even hurting her! She didn't look badly injured!

Sans moved in on instinct to try what he remembered as something he was NOT certified in and refused to do when he was younger- CPR. Oh, how he regretted that. He didn't even know if this was right for humans- his mind was too panicked to worry about that.

Sans started pumping her chest rapidly, scared to hell and back this wasn't right. Alphys had rushed over at this point.

"Hold o-on, y-your d-doing it w-wrong… move over! Do what I tell you too!" Alphys pushed him, and Sans hesitantly complied. He moved as Alphys started pumping Frisk's chest the right way, much more rapidly.

Everyone had rushed over and surrounded, somewhat annoying him. Do something!

"It didn't look like anything was wrong!" Undyne said.

"Maybe actually check next time!" Sans snapped, grabbing his right arm. What would he do? Freedom was useless… useless! He didn't want it! He just wanted Frisk to be okay, god dammit! That's what he died for!

Sans turned back to Alphys.

"What's wrong?"

"I d-don't know, she isn't responding, I-" Alphys was crying. Why was she crying?

Sans was shaking.

She could just reset, right?

…right?

Alphys finally backed away, sweat beading on her scales.

"…"

"…Alphys?" Toriel asked apprehensively.

"I… I… she isn't… I think… it's…" Alphys burst into a muttering, sobbing mess.

Sans felt like something hit him.

No.

No. No no no no.

Absolutely NOT.

Sans moved back to Frisk, shaking the human.

"Get the fuck up right now. It isn't funny! Now! Frisk, don't do this do me! WAKE UP!" Sans was hyperventilating. It hurt so bad.

His soul…

He heard no heartbeat.

Why was there no reset?

"FRISK! Come on… please…" Sans stopped shaking, seeing as it wasn't doing a thing. He couldn't hear anyone else, couldn't see anyone else. All he could see was the thing he tried so hard to protect, the thing he never thought he would care about losing when he fried saw her.

His skull felt hot with tears.

"p-please… don't… just reset… please… I don't… it's… my fault…" Sans hunched in on himself. He was being crushed.

"I'm sorry… please… come back…"

Silence.

Sans was quaking, trying so hard to keep his sob in his throat. It was more emotion than he had ever felt, he didn't know what to do with it. It hurt so damn bad, but he didn't want to let it go, he couldn't let-

Suddenly, it burst free, and he raised his head and let out the most mournful howl he could have ever produced. He could feel his soul, heavy and pained as he let it out.

Once he ran out of breath, stuttering to a stop, he took more air in and kept going, hurting so bad.

It felt like he was trying to reach something, something gone. His soul was acting of its own accord, making him howl desperately. He could see his soul wolf doing the same next to him.

Someone else padded up to the side. Doggo.

"Us Moon Bloods call to you, human." He muttered before raising his head and letting out a howl of his own. Sans looked up and over, confused enough to abruptly stop.

Doggo looked to him and explained.

"Maybe we can call to her soul and form a connection, to pull her back. We are wolves. Wolves can call each other over distances great and unimaginable."

Sans stared, open mouthed, before letting out another howl, this time with clear driven purpose.

 _Call. Frisk. Back._

There was no reset. There would be no reset. The damage done to the timeline via whatever happened while he was out was too great, he could feel it.

Doggo joined, and their howls joined together pitifully. It sounded incomplete.

Eventually, Doggo stopped, leaving Sans desperately trying on his own.

"… we are not enough, old friend. I'm sorry."

Sans shook his head and kept trying. He'd keep trying till he had no voice. He'd keep trying till he turned to dust.

He wasn't letting her go.

He couldn't.

Never w-

Another, higher pitched howl joined his.

Sans stopped, feeling a bristling energy.

Sans turned to see everyone had scattered, staring at a single, unwelcome person.

Chara stopped howling, looking down at him.

"… don't look at me like that, skeleton."

"Get. The fuck. Away from Frisk." Sans snarled. Did Chara do this? If so sh-

"I'm trying to help you, idiot!" Chara snapped.

"I offer my soul. It is incomplete anyways. However, it may be used as an energy source to pull hers back from the realm she had been trapped in."

Sans growled.

"Why would you of all people help?"

Chara blinked.

"I have my reasons. Now do you accept or not?" She wasn't playing around.

Sans gritted his teeth.

He learned his lesson last time, accepting a deal from a-

"Sans, I believe we should try." Doggo insisted.

Sans shot him a glare.

Then he looked down at Frisk.

He…

Sans closed his eyes and howled despite his common sense telling him it was a trap.

Doggo joined again, followed by the new voice of Chara.

It sounded louder, closer.

Maybe…

Sans felt a tug.

Sans increased his volume, filling his last few notes with a desperate pull before tuckering out, panting. His throat hurt.

Dammit, it still wasn't enough. They we-

"Sans."

Doggo nudged him with his paw.

"I know. I know, we can't, just leave me alone." Sans sobbed, dropping his head in his hands. His ribcage hurt. It hurt so bad and he just wanted it to stop.

"I think not, friend. Looks like our enemy was telling the truth."

"That damn skeleton wouldn't know truth if it smacked him in the face." Chara snarled.

Sans looked up and turned around to see the demon fading. She was surrounded by a golden light, and her soul was nothing but a faint outline.

"Good riddance, I say." Was her last words before she disappeared like she had never been there to begin with.

Sans felt hope soar in his chest and he turned back to Frisk, eyes wide.

He took his two fingers and check for a pulse.

* * *

 **I hope this didn't flop completely. I know it's anticlimactic and stupid and cheesy and I butchered Chara. I'm sorry :/**

 **It's 1 am lel. I haven't been getting much sleep lately.**

 **Anyways, 1 more chapter! It makes me sad… but I'm excited for this!**

 **However… will it be what you guys think it will be?**

 **;b**

 **Since it's so late imma hold of on reviews till next chapter. It makes more sense anyways. I am happy with some of the dialogue. That's it. I'm probably going to redo this.**

 **Please, please be sure to check out Fangs of the Wolf. I am going to delete last chapter at some point. Very few people have check out Fangs of the Wolf, and it's a Sans centered story! Plus, once HT is wrapped up it's the only source of HT news besides my DA! It's Comycatdarkangel in case you forgot!**

 **From the tired wolfo,**

 **Comycat~**

 **(Sorry for spelling errors)**


	50. Epilogue- What the future holds

" _I'm in love with an angel_

 _Heaven forbid."_

 _Angel by theory of a deadman_

* * *

Frisk smelled ketchup and magic.

Mostly ketchup.

Why did she smell so much ketchup? It was like she was wrapped in Sans's jacket or something, being slowly suffocated a-

Oh. She was.

Frisk blinked her eyes, her lids feeling heavy. The black coat was wrapped around her, both providing cushion from the hard ground and warmth. That explained the ketchup reek.

But…why?

Her head was groggy and sluggish. What happened?

Frisk let her heavy eyelids fall. She just wanted to sleep some more…

"WHAT! A-ARE YOU-"

"…WHAT ABOUT ME YOU DOG FA-"

"Undyne, please don't talk to the king like that" Asgore cut in.

"Yes, allow me to get to it please. You are _both_ members of the royal guard as of today." Doggo's voice was monotone and showed no sign of irritation, though it had the slightest hint of excitement…

 _That's nice._ Frisk thought, smiling. _They both finally realized their dream. I'm happy…_

Something shuffled beside her.

"… you little shit. I see that." Sans scolded.

…

Sans?

 _S A N S._

Frisk _erupted_ upwards and had Sans in her grasp before he could react, and he let out a startled squeak. Probably cause his ribs were cracking from how hard she was hugging him.

Frisk buried her head in his shoulder and tried to hold back tears.

Everything that happened came back to mind, rushing her with raw emotion.

She was _alive…_ right _?_

"Ey, ey, calm your tits snap pea. Take it easy, take it- Jesus, is that your tail?" Sans peeked behind her to see her tail thumping against the ground at a million miles an hour. Frisk wasn't even aware of it.

Frisk felt Sans's hands snake around her back to return the hug, but he jerked a little last minute and pulled his hands away.

"Awww, Human! Yay!" Papyrus cooed.

"Careful Papyrus, you're gonna lose a bone if you get near that thing." Rocky warned amusingly, referring to her tail.

Frisk didn't want to let go of Sans, so she looked behind and kept a strong grip on the skeleton.

"Y-you scared us F-frisk… d-don't do that, o-okay?" Alphys stuttered, looking down.

Frisk blinked.

"…"

Toriel also approached, wiping her face.

"We… we don't know entirely what happened, but… we're proud of you."

"Yes little one. You did well." Asgore chimed in with his deep voice.

Silver didn't speak, but her smile spoke for her.

"Yay Frisk, Yay Frisk, yay Frisk!" Rocky was chanting. Papyrus joined in.

They had a ton of energy…

Frisk let her grip on Sans loosen as she stood up, still holding back tears.

She didn't know how she was still alive…

But she was happy.

However, her legs wobbled and she fell back down on her face.

…ow.

"Human?!"

"Ah jeez, you okay Frisk?"

"Oh my…"

"Friiiiiiiiisk, I told you to take it easy ya turd." Sans crawled beside her and poked her side.

Frisk groaned.

She wanted to sleep.

"C'mon Frisky. Make sure ya take care, right? I think you've had enough close calls for today. For ever, actually." Sans laid down on his ribcage to mimic for her. She heard tender emotion in his voice and when she turned her head to look at him he looked away.

"Like you should talk, dummy." Frisk teased, grabbing his arm. Something felt a little… different between them. Her heart sped up at the thought- in a good, blissful way.

Sans jumped a little at her touch and rolled over, looking as if she struck him.

Frisk sat up, shooting him a concerned glance.

"Is… something wrong, Sans?"

He didn't look at her.

"Why don't we go… see the surface?" Sans suggested.

Papyrus squealed at the thought.

"Good idea brother! I'm so excited! I want to see the sun and grass! It'll be soooo cool!"

"Fuck yeah! I wanna hit the sun!" Undyne shook her fist.

"Ummmm…" Alphys looked at her girlfriend with sweat rolling down her face. "It d-doesn't work l-like that…" Toriel was giggling.

Frisk felt a flutter of excitement.

It… really turned out okay after all. It felt like a fairytale ending, but she liked that.

Looking at Alphys and Undyne made her feel like something was missing…

Speaking of which…

Frisk looked down to where she had been laying. Sans's jacket.

It was getting warmer and warmer, but… jacket.

She wanted jacket.

Frisk picked it up and pulled it on, giggling as she pulled the floofy hood over her head. It was so puffy and warm and safe feeling. No wonder it made Sans look fat.

"… okay, steal my jacket why don't ya."

Frisk realized he was in a t-shirt and began to unzip the coat with disappointment.

"No no no, you can wear it. I was joking, stop with those puppy dog eyes. Please. I don't need this."

Frisk looked back up.

Still acting weird.

"You can give it back when we go home. Just stop." Sans turned his back to her.

"SURFACE!" Undyne whooped and picked up Alphys, carrying her down to the door that had now opened up.

"One must have some patience." Doggo muttered, turning to follow.

"Cut them some slack, little brother. You must be excited too." Silver nudged him.

Doggo? A little brother?

Frisk remembered Silver and Doggo were in fact siblings. She did not know Silver was the older sibling.

It made sense. Sans and Doggo were the same age while Silver was old enough to work with Gaster.

Everyone else had begun to follow, talking excitedly.

Before Sans started walking, Frisk stopped him.

"Something's still wrong…" she scanned him over. Not hurt. "You also need to explain what happened while…"

"I-I… we can talk later, k? Now isn't the time…" Sans turned to look at her briefly, and his face was as blue as a blue berry.

"…wut." Frisk blinked.

"…you are telling me you don't remember what I said… earlier?"

"…when?"

"Earlier."

"… in the voidy thingy?"

"…what thing? No. When I was dying! You are more empty headed then me." Sans knocked on his skull.

Frisk flinched at the memory.

"…no."

"You don't remember and you haven't caught on even without that knowledge."

"Caught on to what?"

"Like I said, I'll talk later. Get your ass on the Surface. Now."

Sans hesitantly grabbed her arm and started dragging her.

They walked down a long corridor of smooth stone that stopped abruptly into a rocky, uneven cave. The rocks were wet and dripping as ice melted from them.

"This is where the barrier blocked us." Sans tapped the line between smooth stone and rocky cave with his foot.

"Hurry up knuckleheads!" Undyne yelled from ahead.

Frisk felt a few drops of water drop into her hair and run down her scalp. Her legs were slightly numb from fatigue and she felt like she could tip over.

"Are you guys still coming? Did ya fall on the rocks? Come on!" Undyne yelled again.

Sans growled a little.

"Hold your tits, Frisk is tired, you god damn prick! Have at least two slivers of patience!"

Frisk hushed him.

"Sans, please. Now is not the time to fight."

"She's being an ass!"

"She's excited. I can move a little faster, I guess." Frisk realized just now that he was moving at her pace and had a hold on her arm to steady her, not force her ahead.

She flattened her ears a little bit.

Eventually, they reached the others. They waited at the mouth of the cave, huddled together. The air tasted so fresh and new, it was almost hard to breathe. A soft orange light lit up the silhouettes of her friends, punctuated by a soft caressing breeze that contrasted the harsh cutting winds of the underground.

"Took ya long enough." Undyne had been tapping her foot.

Sans growled again and Frisk prodded him to stop.

"Undyne, please. We are all excited."

"IT FEELS WEIRD! LIKE A DIFFERENT WORLD! WOWIE!" Papyrus was jumping up and down, grinning wide.

Rocky's tail was wagging and he was panting the fresh air.

"I know! I never felt air like this before!"

Silver let out a single laugh.

"Since everyone is here, let us go." Doggo turned and lead the way, cape catching the breeze.

Frisk took a deep breath.

That wild feeling was alive in her chest again.

An impatient squirming, a need for fresh air and open skies. The wolf.

And judging by the way Sans was squirming, he was feeling the same.

They headed out last, stepping out from the cave and out onto a flat cliff.

Frisk shielded her eyes at first, the difference between the cave and outside being too much.

She heard Sans take in breath and step forward, then stop.

He was waiting for her.

Frisk shook her head at him with one arm covering her eyes, walking forward so she didn't keep him waiting.

They all lined up at the edge of the cliff, one by one. There were excited gasps and words- curses from Undyne- and a thumping as Rocky shifted from paw to paw in excitement.

Frisk finally looked out onto the world she left behind, pulling her arm down.

Ahead of them were fields and fields of red and orange and yellow trees, trees taken by autumn beauty. They danced in the breeze, leaves breaking free and twirling in the sunset. The sun burned in the horizon, just barely outlining the small city she knew of as her home. It seemed so mini from here, like a child's toy. The sky was on fire with shades of orange and yellow and pink, and the air felt cool but much warmer than the air in the underground.

Frisk was taken aback by the beauty. She knew nature was pretty, but… she never realized how much so. How grand and bubbling it was. She just wanted to sit back and howl.

Frisk looked to her side. Sans was quivering, and his eye lights were huge in their sockets. That coupled with his wide, fang revealing smile was too much and she burst out laughing.

"will you stop?" Sans knew exactly why she was laughing. "Let me be at peace for once in my life, please Frisky."

Toriel giggled beside him.

"You look like you've lost your guts, eh?"

"Heheh." Sans snorted.

Oh god. Frisk thought Sans had, in his growth, grown past puns. Apparently not.

Or maybe he had forgotten about them?

"Is that the sun?" Papyrus pointed at the burning yellow ball at the edge of the horizon.

"Yes, Paps." Sans answered.

"I CAN'T HIT IT! FUCK!" Undyne stomped the ground.

Alphys's glasses reflected the glare of the sun. "It's so p-pretty!"

"Woooow, it's so warm and pretty! I've never seen those trees! The people living here must be so pretty too!"

Frisk felt a little churn in her gut. It was so beautiful now… but they would be hit hard with the realities of this new world. It was beautiful here but once they traveled down that dull asphalt road and into the rest of the world the beauty would fade. Would they be alright? What if this was more of a curse than a blessing?

Frisk's smile turned to a frown at the thought.

There were so many things to worry about… how the human would take them, all the talking and grueling to make them accepted. The chance war could break out. The fact she couldn't stay with them…

"My child, do not worry about the future. Let's enjoy the present, shall we?" Toriel said suddenly.

Frisk jumped a little.

Was it that obvious.

Frisk scratched behind her ear.

"Heh… yeah, I guess."

"WE WILL BE FINE! I REPEAT, FIIIIINE!"

"Undyne, please stop shouting." Asgore was sweating a little. He was looking at Toriel.

Toriel shot him a glance before quickly looking away. She seemed conflicted.

Frisk tilted her head.

Would they… maybe become friends again?

"Hey, just chill. It'll be alright, ya little furball." Sans ruffled her hair and Frisk hit his hand away.

"We can not ignore the future though." Doggo spoke up. He had looked neutral this entire time. Frisk had thought Sans was good at hiding his emotions… but he had little tidbits and signs she had learned to recognize. Doggo was like a statue.

"Will… we still-"

"No. There will be no war."

Asgore nodded approvingly.

"We have suffered enough. I am sure this freedom will be enough to appease the rest." Doggo finished.

"There will be some pushback, ya know. Not every monster has a heart of gold… and I only know one human who isn't a douche!" Undyne pointed at Frisk.

"I'm very aware of that. But I will do what I believe is best for monster kind, and I believe that war is not the path we should walk. It will be difficult, but with work and time we should be able to become a part of this world once more. We do need an ambassador, however." Doggo turned to her, and Frisk's throat clogged up.

"I think you know who that must be?"

"Hey, it don't have to be her. Don't force her into more shit." Sans went on the defensive.

Frisk shoved him.

"Will you stop being a prick? You just went free and you are being cranky?"

"Fuck yeah I'm cranky." Sans muttered.

"Sans is still upset the human almost died. Please excuse his horrible manners, king!" Papyrus shot Sans a look.

Frisk blinked.

No. He was just being a cranky dick.

Doggo chuckled.

"I have known Sans for a long time. I am aware he can get cranky at times. But you do realize we need a human ambassador. She needs to take the job. It is not an easy one, but she is the hope we have. It may not be fair but it is what it is."

Frisk spoke before Sans could start mouthing off again.

"I'd… it's scary, but you are right. And I'll do it." Frisk swallowed. She hated interaction. She hated people. She didn't know a damn thing about being an ambassador.

Looks like the struggles didn't end after escaping the underground. It almost seemed… easier down there, in a way.

"But will they still see her as human? Come on, something's gonna be said." Undyne cut in.

Toriel turned to the fish with a face of disapproval.

"Undyne! Hush!"

"Sorry lady, but it's the truth."

"She still looks human to me! Except she's cooler! Almost as cool as I, the Great Papyrus!"

"She could wear a hat…?" Rocky suggested.

"There may be issues…" Frisk admitted. "But it may be an asset. Who knows."

"Yes, little one." Asgore smiled warmly. "I believe it will all be alright."

"YEAH! WE WILL BEAT EM ALL UP!"

"Undyne, n-no! The point is to n-not fight!"

"Awww…Fuck!"

"I wanna go to the forest!" Rocky pointed down.

"No, not today." Silver shook her head.

"WHAT?!"

"It's too late. We must regroup, recharge, and discuss our next move. We must not go without a plan." Doggo said calmly.

There was an air of disappointment. Even Sans seemed a little irritated.

"Also, arrangements must be made to teach proper etiquette to all monsters." Asgore added.

Frisk closed her eyes.

Thank god they weren't doing anything today.

She was beat.

"Awww, I really wanted to see everything!" Rocky's tail dropped.

"BULLSHIT!"

"Will you guys please calm down? You aren't happy we are now free?" Frisk noticed the older monsters- plus Doggo and herself- were much more composed and patient.

"NO!" Undyne yelled.

"I-its so p-pretty! I w-wanna see the a-anime!" Even Alphys was impatient.

"Soon, little ones. Soon. Now, we should all go and get a good night's sleep, yes? Poor Frisk looks like she will fall asleep right here!"

Frisk jolted, opening her eyes.

She probably could.

"Yes. Any who go further than this cliff as of now will be punished." Doggo eyed Undyne and Sans, the rebellious ones. "We will meet at the royal conference room in two days at 1 PM, all of you. I bid you farewell, and I thank you, human." Doggo did a tiny bow of gratitude before walking back into the mouth of the cave.

"I AM GOING TO GO RUB THIS ALL IN DOGAMY'S UGLY MUG!" Undyne dashed off.

"Undyne, no!" Rocky followed suit, while Alphys stumbled behind him to catch up with her girlfriend.

"I want to go tell all the monsters in Snowdin! They will be very happy to hear this!" Papyrus dashed off, high spirited.

Frisk smiled. He was so sweet.

Silver shook her head, huffing.

"So energetic. Hopeful they have the head on them to stay out of trouble. Rest well, all of you. After that, we all deserve it." Silver winked at Frisk and turned to leave as well.

Frisk was a little sad. She wanted to hang out with them all… but she was tired all the same.

Frisk sat down and crossed her legs, enjoying the breeze. She didn't want to leave quite yet.

Sans, Asgore and Toriel seemed to have the same mentality. However, there was a slight tension between the two goat monsters that was played out silently.

Frisk remembered painfully when they died, how they died together and Asgore had whispered to Toriel. What had she said.

A voice spoke in the back of her head. Maybe it was her imagining things. Maybe fatigue. But it stabbed her heart to hear that tiny voice.

" _Take care of my parents for me, alright?"_

Frisk blinked away tears. She wondered what they thought- did they believe that their child was truly evil? Or did they see him as she did?

Of course they saw him the same. It was their child. It couldn't be different.

But what if they blamed her?

Frisk's stomach turned to stone at the thought.

Finally, Toriel spoke.

"I wish to speak with you later, when you are comfortable. Both of you, in fact." Toriel's eyes scanned both of them.

Asgore's eyes fell on Sans. His mouth tightened. Sans made himself smaller, flustered. Why?

Frisk felt like she was missing something important.

"You two will stay here." He said suddenly.

"…what?"

"Until _he_ tells you what he needs to, anyway. I am tired of these games, Sans. I need to talk to you. But you need to talk to Frisk before I can talk to you. Soooo… you will stay here until you do." Asgore gave him a warm, happy go lucky smile that was akin to a pink light up sign saying "Welcome!" at the gates of hell.

Sans audibly swallowed. He was sweating.

Asgore turned to Toriel.

"Maybe you and I can have a chat over t-"

"No, Asgore." Toriel cut off sharply.

"Oh… okay."

Toriel bent down on her knees, putting her hand on Frisk shoulder.

"Do not feel badly for what you have you could not have achieved, child. Be proud of what you have achieved. Some things cannot be done and some people cannot be saved. You are the type to feel guilty I know. Know that we all only feel pride and happiness for you." Toriel's eyes sparkled. "I will be sending you a pie tomorrow, my sweet child."

Frisk's eyed burned.

They…

Toriel pulled her close for a hug, and Frisk relished in the smell of sweet pies in her fur.

Then, Toriel stood silently and left, Asgore patting Frisk on the head before following.

Frisk blinked, staring at the mouth of the cave.

It was getting a little darker.

Frisk turned to stare at Sans, who was playing with his thumbs.

They sat in silence for what felt like hours, Frisk enjoying the clean air but not able to pull her mind from the events of that day. She felt light. She had a feeling it would be a long time before she could pull herself from these memories of dust and blood.

Eventually, Frisk decided to break the quiet.

"Sans, what was it you wanted to say?"

Sans cringed.

"Wh-huh? Oh… yeeeaaaaaah… I…uh…never mind?" Sans tried hiding in his jacket but remembered he wasn't wearing it. He was so blue he was looking rather sick.

Frisk was slightly annoyed.

"Saaaaaans, we can't leave until you do. You've been stalking around the bush. What. Is. Wrong."

"I don't waaaaanaaaa." Sans whined.

"Oh well."

"I almost died. Be nice."

"We all almost died. Spill it."

"NooooooooOOOOooooo."

"Sans. Please."

"You'll hate me." Sans brought his knees to his chest and hid his head in his arms.

"You actually took Flowey up on a deal. Do I hate you? No. This is nothing."

"You don't understand."

"Yes I do."

"No, you don't! I've thrown so many hints at you and you sit there like "herp derp!"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"If you don't tell me I will push you off this cliff."

"You wouldn't."

"Don't underestimate."

"Fine…." Sans stuck his tongue out at her.

Silence.

"…well?"

"Hnnnnnnn." Sans took a deep breath.

"…I…Welp…sort of… like ya."

"….okay."

"…Frisk, are you kidding?"

"Okay. I would hope you don't hate me." Frisk blinked.

Sans out his arms up in the air with his mouth hanging open in shock.

"You… you… don't… oh my fucking god. This is the most stupid moment in my entire fucking life. Do you know what a dick is?"

"Of course!" What did the male genitalia have to do with anything?

"Then how do you not get it?"

"….?"

"Oh my god… so, Frisk. We've been friends. For a decent time. You like me, yes? As a friend?"

"Yesss?"

"I don't like you like that."

"Wait… you just said you like me!"

Sans facepalmed.

"If I don't like you like a friend, how do I like you by default?"

"… Not at all?"

"Frisk, I swear to god." Sans was clutching at the air in frustration. His face was glowing blue in the twilight.

Frisk felt a little hurt.

"No. I like you. Not as a friend. As a…. er." Sans stopped.

"As a wha?"

"…maybe we should wait till t-"

"No."

"Come on! You aren't making this easy! I can't just… dear god." Sans pinched between his eye sockets.

"Sans, I'm so confused! You're making this hard!"

"Ughhhh… You don't even… if you don't know what the hell is going on, you don't… I really shouldn't…"

"Sans, just say it for gods sake!"

"It will ruin everything…"

"How do you know?"

"I do! It'll be awkward and you'll b-"

"Sans, stop. Being. A. Pussy. And. Say. It." Frisk was a little beyond annoyed. Sans really needed to learn to _talk._

"Pussy? Did you just call me a- oh, you know what?" Sans slammed the ground.

Then he closed the distance.

Except, not for a hug.

Oh god not a hug.

The next moment Sans was over her with his arms on either side of her, and his face right up against hers. His mouth was pressed against hers, but it was just bone. Her lips tingled with some sort of magic that traveled due to the contact.

It was a _kiss_.

Well, his kind.

Frisk didn't process what was happening. She just sat there wide eyed, frozen.

Then Sans pulled back slightly, ending it.

" _Fuck._ You."

Then Sans got off of her and curled up into a tiny flustered ball on the ground.

Frisk blinked a few times.

What.

Just.

Happened?

He just…

Oh.

So that's what he meant.

At Frisk didn't feel anything.

Then it clicked.

Frisk started laughing uncontrollably, clutching her mouth.

" _Holy fuckin shiiiiit!"_ She wheezed, falling over onto her side.

"So _thaaaats_ what you meant!"

"Yes." Sans groaned and covered his hands.

Frisk stopped laughing abruptly.

Okay.

Wait.

How did she actually feel about this?

Sans, a monster…

It was kinda freaky at first thought. A skeleton.

He was annoying, yes. Sometimes she hated him. He was an overall pain in the ass.

But.

He had come to be the best friend she had ever known. He was fun to be around. He had his moments but at the core he was truly kind and tender and loving. He had guided her through the underground and picked her up when she had fallen.

She remembered all the times she and him had made contact. She had actually _cuddled_ with him. That contact made her feel so safe and happy.

No wonder the label of " _friend"_ never fit.

Because, after all they had been through…

She and grown to love him in her own way.

Welp.

That was quite a discovery, huh?

Frisk scooted over to Sans and poked him.

"Sans. Hey, Sansy." Frisk shook him.

" _Leavemealone_."

"Come on." Frisk crawled over him, making him flinch.

"We still need to talk."

"Do you not get the point yet?" Sans peeked out from his little ball of embarrassment and broken pride.

Frisk put her face on the ground at the same level as his, tail waving.

"I do. But we aren't done yet. Don't we need to talk about what happens next?"

"…wait. So you aren't… disgusted by…"

"…nope."

"Soooo…"

Frisk smiled and giggled, ears twitching. She took her pointer finger and poked right above his nose hole.

"Boop. I love you." Frisk said in a playful voice, giggling more.

Sans's eye sockets went black and wide. Two big black circles.

Frisk wondered for a moment if she had broken Sans. Did crash?

Then, suddenly, like a jumpscare out of a horror game, Sans leaped, rolling her over and hugging her so tight she thought her rib cage would collapse. He made a very happy dog sound and nuzzled her neck.

Frisk laughed, trying to pull him off.

Awwww.

"I can't believe you actually… you little fucker. You. Dirty. Little. Fucker."

Frisk stopped trying to push him off and accepted the happy skeleton, too tired to fight back.

"Someone's happy."

"No fuckin duh." Sans finally got off of her and sat next to her, allowing her to sit up. His face was a deep blue, still.

Frisk brushed dirt off of Sans's coat.

"Sooo… are we dating now?" She asked.

Sans flinched.

"Ummm… I guess… as long as you want to…?"

Frisk pointed at him.

"No dirties. Yet." She joked.

Sans actually looked offended.

"Of course not! What the hell do you take more for?!"

"I take you for Sans. Sans is a horny bastard."

"True, but… Frisk, me liking you means I _care_. Meaning, I ain't gonna pin you in bed and do the do. You need to listen to me." Sans grabbed her shoulders to keep her looking at him. He looked pretty serious…

"If you are uncomfortable at any time- I repeat- any time, you need to tell me. Everything's at your pace. I am not going to push you to something you aren't comfortable with doing and you need to tell me so I don't make that mistake." Sans's brow bones pinched together. "I've always been scared of doing that. I don't want you to be scared of me. If you ever are, please tell me. Even if it hurts." Sans gave her a slight shake. "Okay?"

"…boop." Frisk poked him again.

Sans sighed.

"This is serious, Frisk. I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't, stop worrying you knucklehead." Frisk moved in and hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder. Sans seemed a little surprised but she caught his little smile.

"Now that we're dating you're gonna have to be more open than before."

"…fuck. Go back."

"Nope. Too late."

Frisk closed her eyes. She was tired as all hell.

She still couldn't believe…

When she first woke up in the underground, she never expected to be here. With so many good friends, so many memories and even now dating a monster.

If only she knew… heh.

However, she was still apprehensive.

The road ahead wasn't easier. It was going to be hard. Uncertain. Things could go wrong at any turn.

Frisk felt Sans's hand hesitantly warp around her waist. It was light at first-testing- before he relaxed and started stroking with his thumb. The steady, gentle movement relaxed her.

It would be okay. Everything was okay now. In the end, it would be okay.

She knew it was foolish to believe. But it was what they had to hold onto besides each other. A future where everything turned out okay.

Was was about to nod off when something made her open her eyes. Something felt…

Frisk looked behind her.

There, at the mouth of the cave, was two children, faded and transparent. With matching green and yellow sweaters, holding hands.

Frisk's heart skipped a beat.

Asriel turned and waved, smiling with tears running down his face.

Then, they faded away.

Frisk mouthed "goodbye", tears running down her own cheeks.

"So, uh, Snap pea…Um… do ya think we could… could I get another…"

Frisk sighed and rubbed her cheek. He didn't notice.

"Of course, bonehead." Frisk turned back to him.

Sans stared at her for a few moments before taking a breath and leaning in.

Everything wasn't okay.

It sure was more than okay.

As the last of the sun disappeared over the horizon line, a lone wolf howled into the night.

* * *

 **ITS FINALLY DONE**

 **I am 90% positive I butchered that confession scene.**

 **Lol.**

 **Let me take a moment to say thank you, everyone, from the bottom of my heart, for sticking around for this story. This is my longest fanfiction and the first one I felt real, emotional investment into. The characters feel so real so me, and I can relate to different parts of them. The story was just as much of a surprise to me as it was to you guys! It's really been a ride.**

 **I will be going and doing major editing. I did go a bit overboard and put in features that were forgotten and never explored. Like the dream in chapter 1. I will be removing unnecessary stuff. Also, if you would like to help with grammatical correction let me know!**

 **I will post one final update to this story once the sequel is up. For the time being, you guys should make sure to chill over at The side story! Also, my DA, for any art related stuff and further updates. My user Name is Comycatdarkangel!**

 **If you have any sequel ideas, or one shot ideas drop them in the reviews!**

 **The final review responses~**

 **IluvfanficXD: I am tired all the time nowadays lol. Is it weird I don't like pizza? I only like frozen store pizza :I anyways, I think you are one of the longest staying fans and I thank you for that!**

 **AliaSoan: o I don have to respond to u boi we got da Facebook for dat XD**

 **Undyingrage: hopefully the prequel will suffice for now? Lol.**

 **Guest: actually, they will not have children… most likely. I just don't see them as parents. Their experiences with the parents in their lives would deter them, I think.**

 **Jaydomination: yup. Chara is an ass but not as much of an ass as you'd think! At least, without the CD :b you are also a long staying fan, so thank you!**

 **Welp, hopefully I got all the reviews! I'd love to know any critiques for the story (besides the already mentioned going over my head and putting in too much stuff), as well as your favorite moments!**

 **Thank you all for making this journey with me, and I'll see some of ya over at Fangs Of The Wolf!**

 **Till we meet again,**

 **Comycat~** **️**


	51. Actual final update

**Last update guys.**

 **Sequel is out!**

 **It's name is Thorns of a Rose.**

 **Go over there and give it some love! And reviews! Lel**

 **Also, since we someone take a bit of issue with this being a non story chapter , imma add a little story for ya.**

* * *

Storm stretched his legs and yawned. He wiggled his little toe beans and waved his big floofer.

He was hungry.

Storm jumped down from his spot under the human's blanket and trodded into the kitchen.

None of his servants were up yet.

Storm stared at the wall for a few minutes before calling upon his celestial powers to summon his lord...

the Annoying Dog.

The fat white dog materialized in front of him.

"mew."Storm commanded.

Annoying Dog borked and floated up the stairs. After a moment there was a loud thud as Sans was tossed out of his room and onto the floor.

Sans was still asleep however.

Storm walked up to him and prodded his face with his warm wittle paws.

"nnnhggggnnnnnn..."

" **fucking feed me"**

Sans's eyes shot open.

"What the FUCK!"

"mew"


End file.
